Two dead worlds
by RusEmp
Summary: The humanity has finally done it. They have wiped their world from any civilization and now they try to survive in the changed world, unaware that another is ready to extend a helping hand...And the one who wants to help just happened to be the annoying Ghost King
1. Chapter I: The scouting team

"I didn't sign up for that."

The following statement was said by a man, who wore a metal suit of armor. There wasn't a single opened place, everything was covered by a strong alloy. He was wearing a black shirt above the metal, and his helmet looked like a skull, which was a source for his nickname, which later became a full name. Instead of his right arm there was a wide blaster, emitting a green smoke. The man narrowed his pupiless green eyes at the corpse lying in front of him.

The creature had hunchbacked, bipedal reptilian build with long humanoid arms. It was roughly nine to ten feet tall, with a thick and resilient brown hide, who knows how many shots were wasted to kill that nasty killing machine, powerful muscles and twelve-inch-long, razor-sharp claws which had previously left large dents on the man's armor and turned his clothes to shreds. The armored leader kneeled and tilted the creature's heas, wondering if his wife would allow to put its head at the wall.

"What in the blazes is this thing?!" One of the squad members asked.

He, along with three other comrades, was wearing a light, dark green combat armor, with one part covering the chest and shoulders entirely, another two plates were protecting the knees. There were also dark green helmets made from the same material. Beneath that were grayish woolen pants and sweater. There were also black gloves and boots. But their appearance was something unsettling. Three of them had green skin, while the one remaining had blue one. There was a reason for that, they weren't humans, they were ghosts.

The souls of the dead beings had a society of their own. And where was a society, there was the government. And the group's orders were simple - to scout ahead for any contacts with humankind. Because two hundred and twenty years ago the Ghost King commanded to cut off any connections to the opposite plane of existence. Now, for a reason known only to him, he decided to come back. So far the scouts were greeted only by the carnivorous beast. Not that they hadn't encountered the creatures like this in their own world, but the horned beast was unexpected.

"How should I know?" Their leader made a rhetoric question after cutting off a piece of hide and stuffing it in one of his small belt bags. He then got up. "Our mission still stands."

"No offense, Captain Skulker, but I don't recall these beasts walking around the Human World."

"Oh, I'm surely the one who would know. But who knows what changed in these two centuries?" Skulker pried sarcastically. "Move out."

The group followed their leader. The place the portal led them to what looked like an abandoned factory. There were multiple crippled and rusty machines, the dust was everywhere. It was extremely dark around there, but the clock showed it was only three p.m. They were like walking targets, with their bodies glowing with otherworldly aura like the bright lightbulbs. It was hard to be scouts with such a factor, that's why they weren't the most powerful ghosts. To compensate for the lack of power, they wielded silvery blasters, which fired with something in between the plasma and laser.

The scouts went into the office part of the former factory. They would have passed that, but Skulker suddenly noticed a blinking screen of the terminal. Just what he needed. The man approached it and tapped on the keys, while his subordinates shifted nearby impatiently. Skulker meanwhile accessed the terminal and read through the information. There was nothing interesting: the shipments dates, the news about RobCo and RepConn's cooperation, several documents. The latest message was dating to the twenty second of October, two thousand and seventy seventh year. The captain cursed under his nose, but still downloaded the information into the special device.

They continued going. There was no sign of life around. Finally they found something - a corpse. There was a skeleton lying on the floor in one of the corridors. Despite the absence of flesh, the suit was in an acceptable condition. So he didn't die from that thing. The factory couldn't just close with a corpse lying on the floor. Something happened. Something sudden and unexpected. Later they found even more of them.

Finally the scouts reached the main entrance and opened it. Immediately they froze.

"Uhm, sir, are you sure we are in the Human World?"

"I'm not so sure anymore."

They were greeted by black, lifeless landscape. The sky was hidden behind the dark clouds and the green thin fog was everywhere. Occasionally, green lightings sparked somewhere on a distance. Skulker suspected what it was, but better check. From within his armor came a small device - a Geiger counter. Unsurprisingly, it started croaking immediately and quite loudly. They were ghosts, so they could care less about radiation, but why was it there in the first place?

Then the captain took out a map of their location. Apparently, they were at the southern part of Boston.

"Sir, what are your further orders?"

Skulker hummed, putting a hand on his chin.

"We were told to contact humans, so we will not return until we find them. Or at least find out what happened."

"Understood."

And so they went further into the lifeless desert. The scouts occasionally saw the same predatory creatures on a distance. When they were going up the hill, from the ground jumped two another beings which looked like oversized scorpions. Skulker personally stomped with his iron boot on one of them, while the second was shot down. They weren't as dangerous as the previous animal, but if not for Skulker's armor, his leg would have been snapped in half by the scorpion's powerful pincers. The captain took its stinger as a trophy and they kept going.

The surroundings looked all the same, but from the point above the scouts could see better. And one of them spotted something.

"Sir, there is something glowing out there!"

"Everything glows here," Skulker deadpanned, but decided to take a look. From his suit came a binocular and he looked in it. There was something akin to the settlement.

He decided to move there. After a few minutes the group was already examining the village. The houses were made of scrap metal, and looked less than presentable, even if each of them looked unique in its own way. The locals looked at the newcomers in fear. They were all dressed in dark rags, and mostly looked really ill, probably that's why they didn't care about the newcomers' unusual appearance. One of the people went forward, and looked very unsettling. It was like her skin had rotten away in some parts, showing off the muscles.

"Please, we don't have anything of value, just leave," she begged in a hoarse voice.

"Relax, woman, we were just passing," Skulker said.

"What brings you in the Glowing Sea, then?"

"We were sent on an expedition here. So far you are the only sentient beings around here."

"But if they live here it's rather questionable," one of the scouts commented, before being nudged by his comrade.

"Not many would prefer to stay from the usual lives and dedicate themselves to serving the Great Atom. We are His Children, so we chose to be closer to him."

"By being in a radioactive storm," Skulker finished. "Are there any...other settlements?"

"If you mean those who strained from the righteous path, it's right to the north. The Glowing Sea ends there, you'll find multiple settlements."

"Hm, thank you for your assistance. Also, mind telling what exactly created...this?"

The horrid woman smiled, showing her yellow teeth, "Follow me."

The scouts went after her, observing the village. There were barrels filled with radioactive liquids lying around. Those humans clearly didn't think straight. Soon they were let into the small cavern, and the woman lit up a torch, revealing multiple primitive drawings on the walls.

"The Great Atom was always with us," she started, showing a picture of people, who were working under the sun, which looked like an image of atom.

"But only three centuries ago we were able to learn his true power. He bestowed his gifts upon us, our cities lived because of him, our machinery worked because of his blessing..."

"Is she talking about atomic energy?" The scouts whispered, but the supposed priest continued.

"That wasn't enough, the Great Atom wanted all of us to receive his blessing, and two hundred and ten years ago he showed us his nature."

And at this she showed an image of nuclear explosion. The ghosts now realized what made everything around look so lifeless. It was probably the epicenter of the bombardment. Like that was supposed to calm them down. Skulker's lips thinned. The King had picked just the moment to shut the door. No ghost could get to the Zone, so it was no wonder why no one there knew about what happened. Some of those who died in a nuclear fire were probably still roaming the Human World.

After the excursion, the group was outside, while their captain started to think.

"Just bloody brilliant, now what are we supposed to do?" The scout asked.

"In any case, it's not for you to decide, Will," his comrade noted.

"The whelp is right," Skulker said after looking back at them. "This is a decision His Majesty must make. I'll leave to report to him, and you remain here. The humans seem harmless, and I doubt the radiation made them any stronger. Do not provoke them and just wait until I return."

"Yes, sir!" The scouts saluted him and stood straight.

With that a jetpack came out on the captain's back as he flew away, much to the locals' awe.

Skulker soon was near the portal. He stepped through and came out in the opposite plane of existence. Its appearance wasn't much different, black sky was swirling with green and dark purple. The ground presented a bunch of black islands floating in a middle of nowhere. But even in the world of the dead there was more life, there was grass, there were trees. Skulker suddenly found more appreciation for these small things after seeing the lifeless wasteland. The captain flew forward, precisely knowing where to go without any navigation. Soon a giant black keep came into view. Skulker landed near the front gates and the guards, dressed in the black armor, let him in.

The Captain walked through the corridors after being told where the King was. He was in his office. The current owner of the place was a man of culture, his keep surely looked better than during the previous occupant's ownership. Different pictures hung on the walls, suits of armor and sculptures stood on the ground. Beautiful carpets were lying on the path of an armored man. The ruler's home was always a sign of the country's wealth, and this was not an exception, even if there was nothing too fancy, like golden throne or something like that. Skulker knocked on one the doors.

"Come in," a youthful voice sounded from behind it.

The captain entered the room. It had white walls, with dark brown wooden lines going around them. There were several tall bookshelves at the opposite end. There was a window, which gave an outlook at the garden, and in the center was a table made of dark wood.

Behind it was sitting a man, who looked no older than eighteen. But the looks could be deceiving, even if they had some tips. His shockingly white and messy hair was an only indication of his true, three hundred years age. His eyes were of the brightest shade of green, which emitted a slight glow, his skin was fairly tanned. He was wearing simple clothes, black loose costume made of the light material, with white outlines and green buttons. There were also white boots and black pants. The man was sitting cross legged on his chair, looking at the list of paper in his hand, holding his chin with another. He looked up at the visitor.

"Back already, Skulker?" The King asked calmly, returning back to his reading.

The captain rolled his eyes and sat on a chair nearby. "Hello to you, too, Phantom. We met a few...unexpected things."

Phantom's attention was now fully on him. "Care to elaborate?"

Instead of answering, Skulker put a stinger on the table. "Try to guess why scorpions became this big."

"They drank milk?" The King offered jokingly.

"Try radioactive milk," The captain retorted. "There sure is plenty."

"What. Happened."

"Apparently, while we were sitting on our butts here, humans finally decided to destroy each other."

And in short, without spiritualistic additions, Skulker told what he learned. Phantom's expression became grim as he stood up.

"So my fears were correct," he muttered.

"Wait, you knew it would happen?" Skulker asked.

Phantom shrugged. "I suspected this. Unlike you, I spent a lot of time among humans. And I saw what was going on. The lack of resources, the technological progress, which ran ahead of morals. Too many people, too little space. The war was bound to happen. I just didn't want to leave my only remaining friend. Sam was eighty six at the moment she died, surrounded by her family. I was glad she moved on peacefully. There was nothing holding me back anymore."

"It comes with being even half ghost. I can feel you, whelp...what are you going to do now?"

The stark haired man put a hand on his chin, looking out of the window. "You said that Boston was not like what you saw there?"

"So that psychos said."

"We better check that place. Who knows, maybe we will be able to help them."

"In other words, you want to expand there."

"You have a harsh way of calling things. Yes, we may find ghosts there, and we could always use the new working hands."

"And humans?"

"You are asking too many questions, captain," the King said in a singsong voice. "The question of going there is a matter of the Council, not mine. Besides, with what army? All our soldiers are scattered across this entire dimension. I need some time to think about this, if there is nothing else you need, I'd like you to give Frostbite what you have in your second pocket from the left on your belt."

"Damn it, whelp, when have you become so observant?"

"I had a lot of time, besides, the hide sticks from there."

Skulker looked down and saw that the piece of the giant creature's hide was indeed there. The King was smirking smugly at his surprised expression. Skulker understood that Phantom wanted to learn what exactly that being was. Nodding, the captain went out of the room, but was stopped at hearing the King again.

"One more thing, tinny, not a word to anyone about this," Phantom said.

As the door closed behind the visitor, Danny sighed and leaned back in his soft chair. The war certainly ruined all his plans. He went against the very nature of things when he closed the portals between two worlds. They were connected, and without the connection, some anomalies happened there and there. That's why he reopened the portals, to stop the accidents from occurring. Humans never liked the ghosts, so Phantom decided to give the mortals some time alone, so when the ghosts came, they wouldn't be so aggressive. And two civilizations could cooperate. Now, however, one of the civilizations was gone.

But it also opened another door. Ghosts had inherited not only some of the techs from the Old World, but something more important - memory. It could lead to the cultural rebirth, and the undead would be the ones to give a second chance to humanity, improving the image in the process. Yes, that sounded good in a generally optimistic mind of the Ghost King. Maybe too good. There should have been some opposing organizations, who pretended to be the cultural center. But they knew nothing of the prewar world, probably only what they had found in the books.

Phantom was not the same wide eyed teen who stepped on the throne because he had to. He could look eighteen, but there were centuries of hardships, which forged his character. And all of this completely alone. Danny at first had his friends who helped him through, but they all aged, got their families, having less and less time for him, and died. It was a painful experience to bury them one by one. Many wouldn't have been able to bear with such depression, but here he was, a ruler with unlimited amount of sarcasm for everything. Some disliked this trait, but he was still a well loved and just ruler. And Phantom cared for his subjects, because he felt the need to.

After finishing his work, Danny went off to the garden. It was a peaceful place, where he could think without anything bothering him. As he sat on a bench in contemplating of the recently discovered information, Phantom looked at the crystal clean water of the fountain.

Danny leaned back and stared at swirling sky. The same sky he had seen for hundreds of years. Phantom could barely recall how the starry black dome of the Human World looked. Of course, he still remembered the constellations' names, but it was hardly the same. Maybe it was finally his chance. But how could he explain to everyone why he was gone?

Suddenly Danny felt something nuzzling against his hand. He looked down and smiled. There was a small green puppy with red eyes, with black spiky collar. It was sticking the tongue out and wriggling its tail.

"Hey, Cujo," Danny stroked his pet's head. "How is it going, buddy?"

The puppy only barked and lied near his master. Phantom chuckled, still stroking the small green creature. "All you need for happiness is food. If only I had your problems."

He only received another bark. Recalling the day of their meeting, Danny suddenly got an idea.

Yes, he needed the humans to follow him. He could do so by helping them, and not a single soldier would be required. That was a good reasoning. Phantom suddenly got up, picking up his small friend.

"Alright, Cujo, we are going to the journey," he said with a grin.

He received a bark of agreement.


	2. Chapter II: Vault 95

The following days proved to be quite fruitful for the vanguard of the scouting corps. From their report Phantom learned that the northern part of Boston was not only mostly safe from the radioactive storms, but was also in a pretty acceptable condition. Danny easily managed to convince the Council to let him go. It could be considered a vacation. He didn't need to work, only use the fists, what he did not do for quite a while, ever since all pretenders to his position were taken care of. The destroyed world, full of mutated creatures, presented a wonderful challenge for the generally bored monarch.

And speaking of creatures, Phantom had ordered to give the genetic material to Frostbite for a reason. Despite a tribal system, the FarFrozen were one of the most technologically advanced realms. And even if they were against helping, they would have to. But it never was like that and a genetic scan was made. Apparently, that creature was some kind of a mutated Jackson's chameleon. And the mutation seemed somewhat...artificial. Radiation couldn't be so direct in its intention to make such a perfect killing machine.

Danny was calm. He was the Ghost King for a reason, and some detestable mutants were not going to scare him. However, he put a mental note to collect more genetic samples. He could order the same task to the scouts, but he wanted to do everything himself, to make things more interesting. But they would have to collect plants as they went around Boston and map the locations, unnoticed by the humans living there. The project of reviving Human World required the creation of a stable ecosystem, so they had to know the strengths and weaknesses of new flora and fauna.

After a week of preparations, Phantom was ready to move out. He had decided to travel alone, with Cujo being an exception. His closest advisors protested, saying that a man of his importance couldn't go there alone. But Danny wasn't going to change his mind. Meanwhile an outpost was set in the Glowing Sea, which was pefect. No sane human would go into that radiation infested wasteland. Only ghosts and mutants could remain there. And that 'Children of Atom' weren't pestering the armed people. When their preachers came there, the ghosts just laughed at them, since they had gotten an education, and viewing the tiniest piece of matter as a God was amusing for them.

And here Danny was standing at the edge of the green fog.

"Ready to go, pal?" He asked the puppy.

Cujo barked and ran forward. Danny chuckled.

"That's why I am a dog person."

He walked a few meters and the fog was becoming thinner and thinner, until it fully dissappeared. Phantom couldn't help but smile at seeing the clean and bright blue sky. It was good to know that not the entire world was like that lifeless and dark place. Danny was snapped from his observations by a bark. He looked down and saw Cujo sitting near a broken tree, wagging his tail in anticipation.

"Wait a bit, boy," Phantom raised his hand. "Can't go around the world glowing like a light bulb."

Then a shining white ring appeared around the man's waist. It then split in two and traveled up and down. Danny's appearance changed. His stark hair became raven black, his neon green eyes changed their color to icy blue, and the skin became surprisingly paler. The clothes also changed, Phantom was now wearing a white and red T-shirt and sneakers, blue jeans. Never would anyone think that he was a ruler of the entire kingdom. Only several scars seen across his hands showed that he wasn't a simple young adult.

Phantom's eyes fell at the broken mirror conveniently lying nearby.

"I almost forgot how it feels to be a human," he mumbled, staring at his reflection.

It came in handy when he had to blend in. But with no need for that, he remained as a ghost for all those years. After Sam's death a brief, horrible thought crossed his mind for a brief second. But no, he wouldn't repeat the same mistake twice, he would have to keep his human half inside. Still, it was a painful reminder of the life he once had.

Another bark snapped Danny from eyeing his new appearance. Nodding more to himself than to Cujo, Phantom came to his dog and they continued their walk.

Two hundred years after the war seemed to be enough for the lush grass and even leaves on the trees to grow. But the peaceful atmosphere was ruined each time when Danny saw a crumbled house or skeletons lying where they died when the war began. No one ever cared to bury them. Even Cujo whined and didn't want to approach them, clinging to his master's leg. Phantom was also not eager to be a marauder, he didn't want to lower himself to such a low act. He had food and water, which he still needed as a half ghost, in a small bag hanging on his shoulder. But sometimes it would be required, he just wouldn't take anything from that skeletons.

On the distance Danny could see a city, he supposed it was Boston, with unusual skyscrapers still standing in their own district, smaller buildings surrounding them. Phantom never was to that city before, but it wasn't much different from the others in the 2076th year. He had an unusual perspective, actually. Not only he saw the prewar world, no, he saw the world at the beginning of the twenty first century, how it came to the humanity's culmination and doom.

Phantom decided to step from the dusty path. The green grass softly rustled under the man's feet as he went up the small hill. Then he heard a loud 'moo'. Raising his eyebrow, Danny made a shooing motion to Cujo, and the puppy lied on his belly, putting his head on the ground. Danny meanwhile peaked from behind a tree at the source of the sound.

There was a strange being. It looked like a cow, but it had two heads, along with the red skin. It also seemed ill, but then again, radiation does just that. Phantom also noticed that the cow was carrying multiple chests and boxes on its back. So it was a burden animal. Near it were fifteen armed men, most of whom were wearing the green pre-war battle armors, with the images of white skulls on them. Danny started to listen.

"Look, Wes, why do we even need to barge into that damn vault?"

One of the men, who was walking ahead, looked back. The man was quite tall, with a tanned skin shade. He had auburn hair in a Mohawk style and the thick mustache above his mouth.

"BECAUSE we need a base here. We never were this far to the South."

"But why the vault? It must be full of armed people. And we have only fifteen. If they are anything like the dwellers of the eighty first..."

"Please, Vault 95 is full of junkies. Read this in one of the Vault-tech terminals. They aren't going to be much of a trouble, if they haven't died by now."

At hearing the name of the corporation, Danny's expression became unreadable. Suddenly he heard a small growl behind him.

"Cujo, what's wrong?" Phantom whispered, looking at the puppy. His eyes widened in surprise.

The ghost dog was actually growling at the cocroach, which was three times bigger than him. The insect in response emitted own low sounds, shaking its antennas threateningly. Before Danny could stop the creature, it leaped in the air. But then it was shot down and the cocroach fell right under the half ghost's feet. Danny's head snapped in the direction where the killing bullet flew from. The guy he now knew as Wes was pointing a rusty orange pistol at them.

"Well, well, what do we have here...what are you doing here, boy?"

"Depends on who is asking," Danny calmly leaned against the tree, crossing his hands.

"Uhm, boss, he is unarmed."

"What?!" Wes looked up and down at the half ghost. "I can't decide if you are brave or foolish to walk around the Commonwealth without any weapon."

Phantom shrugged. "I have Cujo."

He whistled and the puppy jumped from the grass, letting out a bark. The men looked at each other and whistled, someone moved a finger around the temple.

"Anyways," Danny clapped his hands and approached them, not showing any sign of worry. "Do you guys have a map? I really could use one."

"Hm...maybe," Wes said thoughtfully. "But you have to say a magic word."

"Please?"

"Caps, kid. Do you know who we are?"

"Uhm, collectors of junk?"

Why else would they need caps of all things?

"No, we are the Gunners, kid. You'll hear this name a lot if you live long enough. And we don't do anything for free."

"Oh, I see. I can also see that I have left my wallet at home. But I think there is something I can do for you."

"Really?"

Danny smirked. "You want to get into the Vault. Do you know that there is one big and thick door?"

There was a silence. One of the men stepped closer to Wes.

"Eh, boss, is he speaking the truth?" He asked.

The commander's lips thinned. "I only heard they are quite tough. Keep talking, kid."

"I can get you in, in exchange I want the map."

Wes hummed. "Fine. But try to trick us and you are dead. Moving out, boys."

What charming fellows they were. Danny saw their kind before. Gunners were a typical bunch of people ready to sell out their own parents for gain. But Phantom wasn't usually the one to blend in, he was talking with that sort from the supreme position when they faced his judgement. There wasn't much he did, most of the time Danny was silent, keeping an easy going smile on his face, like he was among his long time friends, not mercenaries to whom he hadn't payed.

Phantom was not an idiot, he knew that they would betray him at the second's notice. But yet again, poor fellows didn't know who walked near them. Cujo was nearby, sniffing the air constantly. The raven haired man scooped the puppy in his arms and started petting him.

"What's with your dog, anyway?" One of the Gunners asked.

"Oh, Cujo? He was like that as long as I remember. Nevermind his color, he is very healthy, right boy?"

Cujo barked and panted in his dog way. Danny stroked his buddy's chin in response. Cujo whined in joy. When one of the Gunners reached for him, too, the dog growled.

"Jeez, a green dog, now I saw everything," someone mumbled.

Soon the group got to the tall rocky hill. There was nothing out of ordinary, but Wes for some reason seemed confident, walking to the cave entrance. After looking inside, the man returned to the group.

"Jimbo, you guard the brahmin, others, follow me. You too, kid."

"I'm Danny," Phantom said.

No one listened, causing the king in disguise to mutter something under his nose. Cujo covered his ears with his paws. He had heard everything. They entered the cave, and in its end was a metal construction, which had a gear-shape. Danny smirked, it was just as he remembered. Wes looked at him.

"Well, go ahead, boy. And remember, fail us..."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't want to look like a bowl for noodles," Phantom rolled his eyes and approached a small remote control. He started fiddling with buttons.

"What exactly are you doing?" Wes asked.

"Simple, these blast doors can usually be opened using special keys. They were put in Pip-boys, if my memory doesn't fail me. Age has own disadvantages."

"Shorter."

Apparently, they missed the latter remark.

"Oh, yeah," Danny moved away the metal wall below the console, looking at the wires. "Anyways, there is nothing unusual about the mechanism, the only complicated thing here is the alloy the door is made of. Dunno what it is. it was something I didn't care about much. I made all preparations, now I need to replace the key with something. Do you have something long and made of electrolyte?"

"A what?"

"Sorry, forgot where I am for a second."

The grips on the weapons tightened. "What is that supposed to mean?" Wes asked.

"Do you have schools around? No? That's the thing. Give me that table lamp. It should do."

His command was done without delays. Danny nonchalantly hit the ground with the lamp and broke it without even looking there. He then took out a wire and tied one end to the wires within the console. Another end was in his hand. Phantom then plugged it inside a small hole in the special place where the key should have been. Nothing happened at first. Knowing what the problem was, Danny looked behind the Gunners.

"What's that?" He asked.

Like idiots, they fell for it. A brief second before they understood the trick was enough for Phantom to send a small ectoplasmic zap to the wires, jumpstarting the torn console again. The mercenaries looked back and the machine was working already. Danny grinned sheepishly.

"Oops, I really thought that there was a Manbearpig. Nevermind, I got this working."

He then pressed a big, square and red button. The door groaned loudly, before being pushed forward and rolling to the side in a gear motion. While Danny watched the door being opened, Wes was talking with one of his men. They didn't know that the ghosts had a very good hearing.

"Shall we kill him?" He asked.

"The kid may be annoying, but let's wait a bit."

Danny smirked. If he stayed nearby, the half ghost could get something more valuable than just a map. But just to keep an appearance...

"So, where is my map?" He asked.

"You know what, kid? You can stick around."

"Boss, do you really want to share the loot with him?"

"Depends on what he finds. All best spoils go to us, got it, kid?"

Danny nodded.

The group went inside the vault. The entrance was empty, and it was strange that there was nobody to meet them. But there was an electricity. Danny started to slowly recall the advertisements of the vaults. They were being built back then, in the last days of him living among humans. Vault-tec used to make exhibitions of their achievements, including the generators, which, by their words, could work for a very long amount of time. Well, they didn't lie.

But there were still rotting corpses on the ground. Danny saw one of the Gunners nudge his comrade.

"Don't do drugs, Jimmy."

"Very funny," the other one muttered. "It seems that the boss was right."

"I don't get it," Danny put in. "Did they ALL die from the drugs?"

"Yep," Wes put in. "I don't know what they thought by filling the entire vault with addicts."

"And where did you find this information?" The half ghost asked.

"Mostly rumors. Believing junkies whose dream is to visit this place, I find it too stupid. But there was one terminal which told about shipments of tons of different drugs: psycho, jet, whatever your soul may wish."

Danny then noticed the path splitting in two parts. The Gunners preferred to go right, but the half ghost decided to go left. Wes noticed this, and put one of his men at the entrance. He didn't want Phantom to get out with anything of value. Danny continued going through the corridors. The walls were painted in blue and yellow, with the signs of wearing off. Cujo kept close, sniffing the air continuously. He whined again.

"What is it, boy?" Danny asked.

Cujo ran to one of the doors and rubbed it with his paw. Phantom listemed to his pet and was about to press a button to open the door, but then noticed that it was sparkling with electricity. Someone had already tried to pry it open, a corpse beneath it was a sign that he wasn't so successful. Danny simply shrugged and went through the door. Phantom whistled. He never saw so many needles in one place. The rumors seemed to be correct, when two rows of shelves were filled to the brim with the chests full of some strange syringes. On the chests were also written the names, mainly 'psycho'.

Danny wondered what should he do with that. He wasn't going to distribute that, of course, rather burn them down. Suddenly a thought occured in his mind. Phantom could later help the addicts by synthesizing the 'antidote'. He recalled something like that existing before the war, but Danny didn't have such things in his disposure. The raven haired man picked up one of the syringes and stuffed it in his bag, along with some red plastic jar, a toy like thingy which smelled weirdly, and a syringe filled with some purple liquid.

After that Phantom phased through the door again. He then noticed Cujo playing with some rubber toy. Danny blinked.

"Where did you get this?" He asked.

The dog turned to another door, wagging his tail. There were living quarters, worn off and dirty beds, filled with junk and empty syringes.

"I start to lose my faith in humanity. C'mon, let's go."

Cujo nodded, still holding the toy in his mouth. The two went forward, before entering a big hall. There were two floors, and he was on the second floor. It was just as dirty as all other places. The Gunners were looking around below him. Danny smirked.

"How is it going?" He asked loudly.

The mercenaries looked up at him. Wes was among them. Phantom pointed behind him.

"I found the drugs. Is here anything except this?"

"Well, if you can open this door..." Wes pointed at one of the metal doors, which three men were trying to pull open.

Danny grinned and jumped over the railing. To everyone's shock, he was completely unscathed from falling from five meters. Phantom simply went to the door and told the mercenaries to step away. He closely examined it, noticing the hole they had been using and tried to expand. The button was broken there as well, but was also completely unrepairable. Danny briefly glanced at the armed men behind him, before invisibly smirking again. He grabbed the edge of the door and pulled it. The door whined deafeningly, but sprung inside the wall in a second. Phantom wiped his arms, noticing the Gunners' expression.

"What? I'm stronger than I look."

He then stepped inside, looking around. It was something like a living room. But something on the table caught his attention. There was a small figure of a blond guy with big head, dressed in a yellow and blue jumpsuit, smiling. It was also holding a minigun and stood on a pedestrial with the name 'Vault-tec' written on it. Danny picked it, and the figure's head shook. So it was a bobblehead. Nice.

"I think I'll keep it," Phantom said, putting the toy in his bag and walking out of the room.

"You said something about the drugs..."

"Oh, yeah, it's down the corridor in the corner of the second floor."

Suddenly he felt something pressing against his back. Wes clapped.

"Nice job, kid, but I am curious about what you have in that bag of yours."

"Dude, you could just ask. There is just food and water. I prefer traveling lightly."

One of the Gunners took off Danny's bag and was immediately pinned to the ground.

"That's what you are calling LIGHTLY?!" He exclaimed, before looking inside. "Oh, boss, he has drugs there."

"I suspected as much."

"WHAT?!" Danny exclaimed.

"What else is there?"

"Just what he says, there are army rations, but they look differently. Dog food...There are also water bottles...what's this?"

He then took out a phone and examined it.

"It's a phone. I have to be in touch."

"Hm, nice stuff," Wes snatched the phone from his subordinate. "Mind if I take it?"

"Yes, I do."

"Nevermind. No one is going to let you out. Now listen here, there is a shutdown security system here. You activate it, without focuses, make itserve us and we let you go."

Danny yawned, while Cujo growled loudly. "Sorry. I'm kind of bored."

"Last warning," Wes pointed a 10mm pistol at the half ghost's head.

"Go on, let's see if you manage to hit the right place."

Wes fired, but one of his own men cried in pain, before falling on the ground, as the blood leaked from his body.

"What happened?!"

Danny burst into laughter, which sent shivers down their spines.

"Here's the thing..." His eyes glowed with radioactive color, while he grinned, showing sharper than usual canines. "You can't kill the dead."

Phantom clenched his fist and the light bulbs burst and shut down, covering the entire room in darkness. No one could see a thing, but cries of terror filled the hall immediately. Multiple shots were made, someone even used laser rifles, but red rays hit nothing but walls. Wes retreated back, hearing his comrades' screaming. He finally touched the wall with his back, realizing that he had no place to run. Then everything fell silent. And it was even more terrific than screams. Suddenly his neck was grabbed as the commander was pinned to the metal wall, creating a large dent. He saw two green orbs staring at him. Then a green light appeared from Phantom's hand, litting them both.

"What...the hell...are you?!" Wes coughed.

"Someone you wouldn't like to meet again. Your friends are unconscious, and I'm giving you the same chance. Leave your job and start normal lives. If I learn that you are at your dirty business again, I'll find you. In my 297 years I had to kill several times, but nor you, nor me want that, right?"

"Y-yes!"

Danny dropped him on the ground. "What's your answer?"

"I will leave! Just spare us!"

"Good. Now, the map."

"We...we never had any...W-wait! There is a Diamond City. It's right to the North-East. It glows at night, you will surely see it!"

"Hmm, fine. Let's go, Cujo, we have a drug storage to blow up!"

With that Phantom dissappeared in the darkness again, leaving a mentally scarred mercenary alone.


	3. Chapter III: Diamond City

A.N. I'm changing the timeline of the events a bit, if you don't mind.

The only good thing about apocalypse was that there were no more traffic jams. Danny could calmly walk through the streets, without fearing the cars. He had taken sleep in one of the destroyed houses, on the worn off mattress. Not the best change from the luxuries Danny had, but he could bear with it. At least there weren't any oversized roaches.

At the moment Phantom was sitting on a bench, while Cujo was trying to eat the meat from the bone in his mouth. Dog food in the bag was just in case the puppy wouldn't be able to find anything to eat. Danny ate the canned beef, warmed up on the small fire. A little treat he had was a bottle of Nuca-cola the half ghost had found. Bless ice powers, he cooled down the drink to make it even more enjoyable. It made him wonder, however, was it healthy to drink something what was in edible condition two hundred years later? Oh, well, he had a trump card against cancer.

After eating, two friends continued their way. During the night Phantom saw the shining light in the center of the city, just like Wes had said. He knew where to go. This 'Diamond City' was going to help him orientate in the Wasteland. Obviously there should have been traders, and one of them could sell him a map. Danny had only one bottle cap, he doubted that that was enough. He needed so sell something not important. But in order to sell something unimportant, Phantom needed to have something unimportant.

"Maybe you should do tricks at public, huh?" He asked jokingly.

Cujo looked up and huffed, raising his head proudly. For two centuries he was the King's literal lapdog. He wasn't going to lower himself to street tricks. His master laughed at that.

They were now at the suburbs of Boston. The houses were not wooden, but concrete ones. It didn't protect some of them from the nuclear damnation, but still. Danny's sharp eye suddenly noticed something. A landmine with a small red glowing dot. Smirking, Phantom pointed his finger at it. A small beam of green enrgy flew out and hit the mine dead on. It blew up, but Danny was on a good distance. However, his moment was short, the car started to burn.

"Eh, did they still put nuclear engines in that things?" He asked.

Cujo whined, lied down and covered his head. That explosion was much more powerful. Danny didn't even want to know whose idea was to make a small nuclear bomb from every car by putting atomic reactors in them, but it was understandable. The last droplets of oil were about to be used, and Alaska was the last known place where it was left. Phantom made an ectoshield and protected himself and his dog from mini nuclear explosion. Danny's lips thinned, he suspected that the radiation was hitting him at the moment.

"Hey, what's with the explosion?!" He heard a shout.

Phantom cursed as he saw three men come from around the corner. They were dressed in junk, there was no other way saying this. Rusty pieces of metal were covering vital places, and their primitively looking guns were the same. One of them had a black warpaint on his face, or was it dirt?

"You have a nice way of greeting guests," Danny commented calmly.

One of them whistled. "My, looks like we got a nice practice target."

Phantom blinked as they started firing from their pistols. Bullets just whistled and hit nothing. The men looked confused.

"What the..."

"My turn."

Danny swiped his hand and they were thrown aside like ragdolls. Two of them dropped their guns and Phantom picked one. It was amazing how some thing made from wood and little pipes could even shoot. Oh, well. Danny shot at one of the raiders' hand and the man cried in pain as his weapon was dropped on the ground. Phantom whistled and shook the pistol.

"Come on, now, turn around," he said softly.

The raiders complied, for they had no other choice. The wounded one was still holding his hand.

"What the heck just happened?!"

"Simple. You have decided to rob the wrong guy. The one who doesn't have anything and who can fight back. Now, everything of value, put it on that car."

"You little son of a bitch..." the wounded hissed angrily. "We need help!" He shouted, obviously calling for further assistance. He suddenly took out a knife and lunged at the young man.

He got a bullet on the head. Mercenaries were one thing, but raiders... He heard about what such people did. They would have died later anyway. After his forces would have been able to come.

"He should have played bascetball, he can catch everything, even a bullet. Let's see if you are as good," Danny grinned.

Two more precise shots hit the bandits' heads, despite how they tried to run away. Hearing the approaching raiders, Phantom spun around and made a shot, killing another bandit. The following clack meant that he was out of ammo. Danny hurled the empty pistol at another raider and jumped behind the stone railing near one of the houses. Cujo was nearby. Phantom made a sign motion and the puppy understood what he meant, before running off.

"Come out, you dirty raskal!" Someone shouted.

"No, thanks, I'm fine sitting here!" Danny responded.

"Cheeky brat, huh?"

Phantom heard a clang, like when someone is about to throw a fragmentation grenade. That's exactly what happened. Suddenly the raider cried in pain and fell on the ground. Cujo was biting the man's leg. He looked somewhat bigger than before, and his fangs were damn sharp. After two centuries the puppy had learned to control his size.

"Damn, mutt!" He yelled before painfully realizing that he had dropped the grenade.

"Take cover!" Someone exclaimed, before another explosion happened.

The raider who had planned to use the grenade became its first victim. The puppy wasn't affected by it at all, growling at the remaining attackers. Danny ran out of his cover, jumping above another car and hitting the raider's head. The unconscious enemy dropped yet another primitive weapon - this time it was a carabine. Shrugging, Phantom shot at another bandit, and the gun seemed to be working. Sadly, it was the last bullet. Danny sat behind his cover, trying to find a way to reload the thing. He wasn't used to firearms, not even to blasters. He couldn't just walk around shooting everyone with ectoblasts. Oh, wait, why not?

Phantom threw the gun away and got up. A bullet whistled near his left ear, and Danny's head snapped to its source. His hand glowed with radioactive green color, much to the raiders' shock. Then Phantom sent a beam at one of them, making her cry in pain and a nasty burn to be left on her skin. Danny then raised another hand, before a tall green shield appeared in front of the upcoming bullets. Phantom calmly put hands behind his back, waiting for the bandits to go out of ammo. Or realize it was pointless to shoot.

"Enough, we can't shoot through this thing," the raider said and everyone stopped.

"My, are you a Nobel Prize laureate by any chance?" Danny asked sarcastically, knowing that his joke remained misunderstood. "Get out of my way, and you may live a little longer," he added, before dispersing the shield.

Immediately they fired at him, but after the first shot their guns flew out of their hands. Danny grinned, showing his fangs, before his hand glowed again.

Meanwhile three men in the armor made of brown improvised baseball equipment were on their daily patrols. As they were passing the street, they heard multiple cries of terror.

"What was that?" One of them asked.

"It's not like there are many possibilities. Let's check this out."

They slowly went around the corner, guns at the ready. They blinked under their helmets at what they saw. There was a young man, with nothing but a T-shirt on him. But there were also multiple raider corpses around, and that's what stunned them. The guy seemingly didn't notice them, kneeling near one of the bandits. There was also a green puppy near him.

"Do you remember at least one time someone followed my advice?" Danny asked. Cujo whined. "Yeah, I thought so."

Suddenly Cujo perked up and looked at the men's direction. He barked and Phantom looked at them as well with his striking blue eyes.

"What, came to see your friends?" Danny deadpanned, wiping his clothes.

"Uhm, no. We don't know them, but judging from their smell, these are raiders."

Phantom laughed genuinely. "I feel ya. My nose is too sensitive. Well, you aren't shooting at me, that's a good sign. Who are you?"

"I am Winston, Diamond City Guards. A newbie around here, eh?"

"I guess you can say that. I've been looking for this city, by the way, can you show me where to go?"

"We were just returning from the patrol, anyways."

Danny was glad to finally meet normal people, or at least they seemed to be. It would have been better if they weren't glancing on him from time to time. Phantom had gained a slight introversal trait, he didn't like too much attention. Finally Danny's patience evaporated.

"What are you looking at?" He asked.

"It's just...how did you manage to kill all of them by yourself?"

"You don't even have a gun. Or maybe a gun."

Danny shrugged. "I don't need weapons to defend myself."

"So...you are, like, fighting with bare hands?"

Phantom looked at him with a deadpan expression, before punching the nearest car without even looking at it. There was a large dent left, much to the patrolmen's shock.

"I'm stronger than I look."

They continued going. Danny was impressed at seeing a strong line of defense. Barricades, watchmen, even rumbling turrets. Soon they were near the huge metal gates, which were shut at the moment. Near the speaker was standing a young woman. She had shoulder long black hair, was wearing brown boots, red coat, black fingerless gloves and a reporter's slim hat. The woman was talking to someone on the other end of the line. Danny heard the guards groaning near him.

"Oh, dear heavens. It's Piper."

"Who is it?"

"A nosy reporter. She had found a printing press somewhere and started publishing her newspaper."

Danny snorted. He'd know better than anyone that reporters could be way too annoying with their constant questions. But he never judged everyone by behavior of the few. Phantom was snapped out of his thoughts once he heard Piper shouting.

"Oh, look it's a scary reporter, boo! Stop this already, Danny, and just let me in!"

Danny blinked. Before realizing that she was speaking with the guy on the other end.

"I'm sorry, Miss Piper, Mayor McDonough ordered not to let you in."

"What do you mean?! I live here, Danny Sullivan, you can't just lock me out!"

"Jesus, I have a feeling we're here for long," one of the guards mumbled.

Phantom rolled his eyes and approached the speaker. Piper looked at him in surprise and backed off a little bit.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I came here to leave some...caps, not to stand outside," he said loudly into the speaker, before winking to the reporter.

Piper smirked. "What do you say, Danny? Will you let us in or would you rather explain to the mayor how have you turned away the supplies?"

"Jeez, alright, how is this my fault?" Sullivan moaned, becore the gates started to whir, before opening slowly.

"Nice one," Piper commented quietly. "Let's get inside before he realizes that he was fooled."

Danny smirked as they went inside. The guards immediately went into the personnel room. Phantom looked around and noticed that the entrance looked like an entrance to the stadium...wait. He didn't have time to voice his confusion, because he saw a man running downstairs. He was fairly old, with grayed hair and mustache. The man was wearing a gray suit, with fedora hat of the same color. There was also a flower in his suit, cute.

"Piper, how did you get in here, I told Sullivan to keep this door shut! You devious little...The level of dishonesty in that paper of yours is..."

"Aw, McDonough, not happy to see me?" Piper's smile dissappeared. "This is outrageous, I can already see the headlines, 'Tyrant mayor shuts down the press.' How about we ask the newcomer, do you support the news?"

Danny was surprised that the conversation went to him. "Well, depends on the news. There are some I'd like to close for spreading lies."

"See?" McDonough looked at Piper.

"But that doesn't give you the right to shut this one just because YOU don't like it."

"Oh, ehm, anyways, it wasn't my intention to bring you into this, good sir. Welcome to Diamond City, the shining jewel of the Commonwealth."

"Yeah, the best house of cards around here. Untile the wind blows."

"And, as the mayor of such a great city you can tell me the place I should visit."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this."

With that McDonough walked off. Grinning Piper looked at Phantom.

"A greeting from the mayor himself," she said. "You must feel honored."

Danny shrugged. "Somehow I don't feel this way."

Piper chuckled. "So, what brings you here?"

"I'm traveling. After spending so much time on one place, people always want to do so."

They heard a bark, before looking down. Cujo was looking at them, whining. The reporter looked surprised, while Danny picked his friend up.

"What is it, boy? Hungry?"

Cujo barked again, making Phantom roll his eyes. "Of course you are."

Piper raised her eyebrow. It almost seemed as if Danny could understand what his weird dog was saying. She was snapped from her observations when Phantom looked at her.

"So, good mayor turned me away. Mind showing me around?"

"Sure thing, I can get an interesting perspective on this city."

They went upstairs. There Danny realized that his assumption was correct. It was indeed a baseball stadium. The field was covered in buildings made of scrap metal. Some houses were positioned on the lower rows of the stadium. It was the first lively place he had seen so far. People going around their daily business, kids and dogs running around...Danny actually smiled. If only the city didn't look like a piece of garbage, which he could fix later on.

"Fresh news, buy fresh news, your neighbor may be a synth without you knowing about it!"

Danny looked at the source of the noise. It was a young girl with chestnut hair and hazel eyes, who was waving a newspaper around. Piper approached the girl.

"Well, hello, Nat, how is the trade going?" She asked.

"Fourty papers in one hour. Your article is selling like Takahasi's noodles."

"Well, that's good, sis. Keep going. I'll be back soon, I'm a temporary guide for this guy."

Nat looked at Danny. "Oh, do you want a newspaper, sir?"

"Oh, ehm...how much?"

"One cap."

Danny sighed in relief. "Thank the Ancients," he mumbled, before digging out Nuka-cola cap.

Phantom handed the currency to the girl, who in exchange gave the paper to him. Danny looked in briefly.

"Let me guess, it's your work?" He looked at Piper.

"How did you guess?"

"Maybe because you are the only news agency around?"

"Fair enough. What do you think?"

"Hm, I am a new one around here. It is not exactly clarified here what is this 'Institute'."

"That's the point. No one knows. We have seen only their synths. Some of them are indistinguishable from humans, and that's the scariest thing."

"Ah, yes...classic Terminator thing," Danny mumbled to the others' confusion. "Does the Institute has any affliction to the Institute of Massachusetts? It was quite famous at its time."

He only received shrugs. Phantom sighed. "They must have advanced techs if they make such machines."

"You sound like one of those nerds from the Brotherhood."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, they have come here a few days ago. They were asking people around about where to search for the remnants of the old world. So, I guessed they weren't searching for collector's edition of Quartz Nuka-cola."

"Hm, it gets more and more interesting. Where are they?"

"In the Boston airport. You won't miss it, there is a giant zeppelin. But they don't usually take kindly to strangers if you ain't a trader."

"I see. Well, I haven't seen any synths so far..."

"Well, meet one. Hey, Nick!"

Danny looked to the side and blinked in surprise. There was a guy, who seemed like he came from the twentieth century noir movie. Fedora hat, trench coat, both seriously worn out. But it was his appearance which startled the half ghost. Nick's right hand was a steel skeleton, a complicated mechanism. His face was battered, and in some places gray synthetic skin was absent, showing the robotic inners. His eyes were black, with yellow circles for the pupils. He sighed.

"Hello, Piper," Nick said without enthusiasm.

"Wait, is he..."

"Yes, I am a synth. One and only accepted in this city. Please, ask the questions to my secretary, I am in a hurry."

"Where are you going?"

Nick groaned. "To do my work."

"Is this somehow connected to kidnapped Darla?"

"Yes."

"Piper, let the poor guy go," Danny put in, much to the synth's appreciation.

"Fine, I'll go talk to Ellie, hope you don't mind," Piper looked at Phantom. "It's hard to be the only reporter around," she mumbled, going away.

"And it's even harder to bare with her," Nick mumbled, making Danny look at him. "I have nothing against Piper, but she is way too nosy."

"So I've noticed. Hey, mind if I tag along, too?"

"Why?"

"Well, I hope to find some money. I can be useful, can hack every terminal and stand for myself."

"I prefer working alone, besides, it's a partially personal matter."

"Is this your girlfriend?"

"Dear heavens no, she is a rare brat. Anyways, thanks for the help, but I should be fine on my own."

With that Nick left Danny alone with Cujo and Nat. Phantom looked down at his friend.

"Follow the guy, Cujo, don't let him see you, come to me if something happens."

Cujo barked and went after the synth. Danny had a feeling that Nick would need his help. His gut never lied. Phantom then went deeper into the city. There were a central market, and a local noodle shop operated by a remade police robot who knew only one phrase, and it was in japanese. Weird, but atmosheric. All kinds of goods were being sold there, even drugs. And everything needed caps. Why had they even become a currency? Danny only had the Ghost Zone currency, but he wondered if gold was of any value around there. Nope, they didn't believe it was the real gold without even checking.

Phantom continued walking around, before noticing an old man, dressed in rags, shacking and sitting near one of the buildings. At first Danny thought he was a junkie, but it was until the man spoke.

"Nuka-cola, need Nuka-cola," he kept muttering.

Danny recalled that the drink could cause an addiction. There were some cases before the war. He always wondered why it was even allowed. Phantom decided to leave it be, he shouldn't steer the addiction even further. By the evening Danny was sitting on a bench in a market square without anything to do. He was munching a nutriet bar he had taken from his bag. The food and water there was enough to keep him going for a week, one day had passed. After that he had to sustain himself somehow.

Meanwhile Phantom was plotting. Since he had no army, no money to pay the mercs he so much disliked, the plans of conquest were staggered. Danny needed the men fighting for an idea, the ones who would follow him. But try to find an idealistic folk in the world which wants to kill you. Suddenly Phantom felt something rubbing against his hand. He looked down and saw Cujo.

"Something happened, didn't it?"

Cujo barked and ran a few steps ahead. Danny got up, picked up his bag and followed the puppy out of the stadium. They were going for an hour, sometimes encountering dead raiders torn to shreds. Danny narrowed his eyes at the ghost dog. Cujo only wagged his tail innocently. Soon they entered a small park in the old district of Boston. It didn't give the best impression, and Danny could swear he saw something in the muddy pond. The puppy led his master to the underground entrance.

"So, what shall we wait there for?"

Cujo growled, meaning that there were dangerous beings. Danny hid his bag under the lush bush and went down the broken elevator. Immediately as he entered, Phantom could hear the multiple voices. Deciding not to barge in, he turned invisible, just as his dog. Danny walked through the underground corridors, encountering gangsters on the way. To the half ghost's amusement, they were dressed like mobsters from the times of the Great Depression. Some of them looked skary, partially without skin, like that preacher in the Glowing sea. Must be a common mutation.

But Danny was calm as he passed the chatty bandits. He learned that Nick, by the last name 'Valentine' was familiar with the local mafia leader 'Skinny Malone'. And out of the grudging respect they shared, Malone let Valentine live, in his own way, of course. For a robot, Nick seemed to have quite an existence. Danny doubted it was his creators' intention.

To his utter surprise, deep in the underground Phantom found a door to yet another another vault from the same company as before. So the Gunners weren't the first ones with an idea to use the most protected place in the wasteland as their base. But the ten ton door wasn't an obstacle for someone who could phase through. After that Phantom continued his way. It was becoming less and less funny. Yes, tripping the wannabe mobsters with Tommy guns was amusing ten times, but not eleven.

The main hall was the same as in the Vault 95, but it was mostly empty. There was only one guy near the Overseer's office. He was looking through the window inside the office.

"C'mon, let me out already!" He heard Nick's voice.

"Shut up already, Valentine, you know I won't do that," the gangster said.

"You do realize that you will be next, right?"

"What?"

"Yes, I saw Malone writing your name down that black book of his."

"Stop lying, Nick, I have seen the book just yesterday."

"Yeah, and what else he let you do? Touch his girlfriend? Malone doesn't let any of you see the book."

"Shu..."

The gangster was suddenly pushed backwards, over the railing and seven meters downwards, crying loudly, before falling silent.

"Hello, Nick," Danny grinned, becoming visible.

"You are that guy from the market. Alright, show your promised skills, the entrance is through that terminal."

Phantom went for the device and dug in. In a matter of seconds he solved the puzzle of words and numbers, before putting in the right password. The door slid open and the half ghost entered the room. Nick took out a sigar and ignited it.

"Here he comes, my knight in shining armor. How did you find me?"

"This little guy was following ya," Danny pointed at Cujo, who barked and wagged his tail.

"Really? My hearing sensors must be glitching, I would have heard...It is smart pup you have."

"Yeah, I know," Phantom smirked as Cujo barked.

"Alright, I won't be able to pay you for my rescue if we don't get out of here, so let's go now."

Suddenly Danny saw another blond guy's bobblehead on the table. This one was standing near the tribune. Grinning, Phantom picked it up. Another addition to his small collection. They hurried out of the room and went down to the first floor.

"How did you get in this situation?" Danny asked.

"It was a trap. That Darla girl I've been tracking for a while wasn't actually kidnapped, she just was dating Skinny, the nickname is ironic by the way. And like an idiot, I was ambushed. Now, quiet, that scream must have been heard. Do you have any Stealth-boys left?"

"What?"

"The thing you have used to turn invisible."

"I haven't used any."

"Then how..."

"What the HELL?!" A scream saved Danny from giving an explanation.

Three mobsters entered the main hall, and the scream was a reaction to seeing their comrade's fractured corpse.

"Do you have a plan? They have taken my gun."

Phantom grinned evilly and Valentine didn't like it at all. Danny scooped the nearest light bulb and threw it to the opposite side of the room. The mobsters looked there and approached the place. Danny quietly crawled to the gangster in behind. In one swift motion he twisted the man's hand, hit his ankle and phased off the Tommy gun from his hands. Immediately a bullet flew into its former owner. With multiple yells, the other gangsters turned around, but a series of shots finished their existence. Danny blew the steam from the gun's barrel with a smirk.

Nick whistled. "Damn, kid, where did you learn that?"

"I had a lot of experience. Have been fighting since I was a kid. Let's go now."

They went further thro the vault corridors. Danny kept waving the cool looking gun around, making quiet shooting sounds, while Nick observed him. He hadn't forgotten the slip about the lack of stealth boys. Phantom meanwhile was being his childish self. Free of any responsibilities, he could go nuts.

On his way Nick picked up a silvery 10-mm pistol. Immediately the fate threw the candidates for housing a few pieces of metal inside their heads. The gangsters' mobster outlook didn't include any protection. But another thing which caught Valentine's attention was Danny's reaction. Even he, a machine, didn't have such reflexes. The bandits didn't even have any chance to pull a triger. Whatever this kid was, he sure wasn't as harmless as he seemed to be.

While Danny was a specialist at hacking, Nick could pick any lock. There were several doors. Nevertheless, Valentine was quick in his job, his thin metal fingers were a good assistance. Finally they reached a room which looked like a big closet. There were many boxes, and while Nick was picking another lock, Danny looked into one of them. There were blue jumpsuits.

"Hey, what are those?"

"Those vault dwellers were apparently afraid of horrible evening dresses, so everyone wore this clothes," Nick explained sarcastically.

"You know, you are actually the most chatty robot I've seen."

"I am not a robot," Nick groaned. "I am a synth, not robot, not android, a synth."

He suddenly perked up. "I hear something behind the door. Be ready."

Finally Nick was done while Danny was pointing his gun at the entrance. The doors slid open, revealing a group of four people. There were two gangsters, accompanied by an overweight man in a tuxedo and a black hat. Near them was a young woman in a blue dress and a bat in her hands. She looked ugly for Danny's liking, but he wasn't going to voice it yet.

"What the hell, Nick?! First you break into my vault, kill my boys, and expect me to stand by?!" The overweight man asked.

"Hello to you, too, Skinny."

"Wait, this is..." Danny managed to say before bursting into laughter. Not able to stand properly, he leaned against the wall. "Oh, Ancients, that's PRICELESS. Did you get the nickname before you gained the mass or after?" He asked before going for another round of laughter.

"And who is this brat?"

"Honestly, I don't even know his name," Valentine deadpanned.

"I told you we should have just killed him, Skinny," the woman near the gang leader said. "And you started to weep, 'Deary, we are old friends!'" She made a whiney voice.

"Let me guess, you are Darla," Danny said.

"Yes, isn't it obvious?"

"Well, I was given the characteristics of a brat...But it wasn't mentioned how ugly you are."

Her eyes started to burn as she gripped the bat so tightly, that she left a trail on a wooden weapon. Everyone froze at the moment, looking at what was going to happen. Darla roared and lunged at the half ghost, swinging her weapon. Suddenly she stuck in mid-strike, a bat being an inch from Phantom's smirking face.

"Oops, seems like you are stuck."

"What's going on?!" Malone asked with a note of fear, while Darla tried to move, emitting a slight green glow.

"Let me go, you idiot!" She shouted.

Danny yawned and leaned against the wall again. "I'm not even touching you, girl. If I did, you would have been a bloody pulp."

"Didn't your Mommy teach you not to harm women?"

"Lady, my Mom was the one who taught me your vital spots to hit. I'll take this, thank you," Danny took a bat in his hands. "Hmm, red wood, how many gallons of Nuka-cola have you drank to save money for it? Oh well, doesn't matter," he shrugged, before swinging the bat and hitting her in the head. Darla fell on the ground like a bloody sack of potatoes. Malone gasped.

"What, I only made her prettier."

"You are dead!" He exclaimed, loading his Tommy gun.

'You think I don't know that?' Danny deadpanned mentally.

He rolled to the side, just as Valentine did.

"You just had to make everything complicated!" Nick shouted over the noise of the shooting, before firing from behind their cover/flipped off table.

Danny was nonchalantly fiddling with the gun in his hand. Its large magazine was empty by then. He cursed and tossed it away, before picking up the bat.

"Do you think I can block bullets like a Jedi with this thing?" Phantom asked.

"Like who?" Nick ducked back behind the table.

"Ah, yes, forgot where I am for a second. Don't worry, Cujo got it covered. He follows our favorite tactic."

He heard a pained yell of the gangster. "Yep, that's my call."

Danny jumped over the table and lunged at the nearest gang member. He hit him hardly, leaving a crack, maybe on the bat, maybe skull. Phantom then saw a mobster pointing a pistol at him, but was shot by Nick. Danny stood behind the shelf, hiding from a surge of 45-mm bullets. He couldn't reach another Tommy gun. Danny outstretched his hand, the gun glowed green, before flying into it. Phantom jumped out of the cover and pointed the machine gun at the gang leader.

"Alright, you walking irony. Hands up," Danny threatened.

Since Nick was pointing at Malone's back, the gangster had to comply, dropping his weapon.

"Mind if I finish this, kid?" Valentine said.

"Sure."

"H-hey, Nickey, let's just forget about all of this, okay? For the sake of our former friendship."

"Funny, I had the same thought."

"Wha?" Danny asked.

"You said I can do what I want, I want to let him be."

"Fine. You are the boss here. Take a good care of your girlfriend, hopefully her brains are in the right position now."

Valentine snorted. "Jeez, kid, are you ever quiet?"

"I can be quiet. Sometimes I can be quiet for thirty whole minutes."

They went out of the vault. As the three walked through the empty underground.

"What was that about?" Nick asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant the glowing. Is this a telekinesis or something?"

"Well...sort of. You sound strangely calm."

"Nah, I've seen things," Valentine ignited a cigarette. "Radiation does wonders. Anyways, I hope you don't mind me sharing half of my reward."

"Thank you," Danny smiled.


	4. Chapter IV: Joining the Minutemen

Danny finally got the caps to come by. Darla's parents were given the news about their daughter and that the detective had done everything he could. Since Phantom joined only in the end, without participating in the rest of the case, he got a quarter of the earnings. Fifty caps were enough for him, so the half ghost didn't complain. He could purchase a map and, of course, a bowl of noodles from the local master. It tasted really good, actually, if you don't count the occasional drops of machine oil in the food.

Nick thanked Danny before the latter left the city. They separated on good terms and Phantom thought that that wasn't the last time they meet.

Phantom examined the crude piece of paper once he was on the small square near Diamond City. There were several markings on the map. For example, Boston airport, which was to the North-East, was circled with red marker and signed as 'Brotherhood of Steel'. The same marking was made around the Police department about two miles to the North. Danny didn't have any intention to cross with the guys yet, but Phantom had an intention to go further to the North. The reason was quite simple.

Danny wanted an army, but he couldn't get one at the moment. But, when he was in the city, the half ghost heard that there was an organization named 'The Minutemen'. It was obviously a reference to the American war for independence. They served as a kind of voluntary militia, led by their general. So, they must had had good intentions in their minds - to maintain order in the Commonwealth. However, the Gunners slaughtered them in Quincy. Those who remained scattered, and the ones who managed to get out of there went West.

All puzzle pieces were in place. Desperation, loss of the strict leadership and the bloodthirsty organization breathing down their neck. Everything they needed was combined in one person who was already tracking them down. Danny had an experience no one in the Wasteland could have: the knowledge of logistics, strategic maneuvers and tactical tricks. Phantom hoped that there was enough minutemen to make future advances.

Yet the most comfortable way to get there was through Lexington. The Brotherhood was a few hundred meters away from there, so Danny needed to be careful. He didn't want any extra attention just yet. Furthermore, to make everyone stop noting that he was walking unarmed, Phantom was carrying a half empty Tommy-gun with him. The half ghost also found a black jacket in one of the old shops. Synthetic leather, no radioactive insect would want to eat it. The jacket looked quite neat, and Danny looked like a casual wastelander. Well, maybe he was cleaner than most.

Lexington was completely empty. And it concerned the half ghost, because the place seemed peaceful at the first glance. He entered the small square. There were several abandoned shops, including the magazine one. Too sad that all journals were burnt off, Danny could use some entertainment. While he was rummaging through the boxes, trying to find at least one issue of Grognac the Barbarian or maybe Silver Shroud, Cujo barked.

Danny looked up from the box. "What is it, pal?"

The puppy growled at one of the corpses out of the tiny building. It was dressed in dirty rags. Phantom raised his eyebrow.

"This guy is dead, boy, probably radiation got him."

Suddenly what he had assumed was a corpse slowly rose on the feet in a zombie-like fashion. Its skin had rotten away long ago, and its eyes were bright yellow. Danny's ice blue eyes widened in surprise. The creature then lunged at him with a neck breaking speed. Phantom didn't pull the gun from his back. Instead he charged a blast and fired, effectively ending the zombie before it could get to him. Danny stared at the thing.

"Zombie. A freaking zombie," he muttered. "Shouldn't it obey me, though?" Danny looked down at his dog.

Cujo barked.

"Yeah, then what can it be if that's not zombie?"

Then Phantom recalled that beings from the Glowing Sea. They looked alike, but this one looked more feral. It seemed that that was some kind of mutation, and in this case it was more severe. So, the radiation didn't bring the dead to life, good to know. Or he hoped his assumption was correct. After that incident Danny became more careful while passing the corpses. Because now he knew that each of them was ready to tear him apart.

They finally reached the northern edge of the city. Danny calmly unwrapped the map and looked at it. He started thinking. Quinsy was to the west, the people said that the Minutemen had gone north. There were two settlements to the North-west, first was an elite living district Sanctuary Hills, another was a small village of Concord. They must have been in one of them. So, still with an upbeat mood, Danny and Cujo went there.

The road, as usual, was beaten up like hell. If only one of that cars left there was operational. The road was thankfully clean of any foreign beings. Soon they got to what looked like a stereotypical diner. There were two people, a man and a woman, standing in front of the place and shouting something.

"We had a deal, you old hag! It's his fault he doesn't want to pay!" The man wearing a black jacket said.

"Get lost, Wolfgang, don't you see what that junk has done to my son?" The old woman exclaimed from the inside. Danny decided to approach them, slowly taking out a machine gun.

"He knew what he was going for, my deed is to offer...Woah, wait there, scavenger," Wolfgang suddenly turned around and pointed his rusty gun at Danny, who didn't give a shit. "That doesn't concern you."

"If you wave your gun in front of every bypasser, that doesn't speak well of you."

"Yeah, look, sorry man, just let us do our job," the raven, but greasy haired man moved the weapon away, and so did his companion.

"You mean robbing the old woman?"

"We are not robbing her!" Wolfgang groaned. "Her kid didn't pay for the last portion of junk. It is a threat to my business."

"Oh, one kid is a threat? It must be shitty business. You should have known better than to sell the drugs to the kid who lives in a tight diner with his mother."

The man's lips thinned. This guy got a point. "Fine, but I won't sell a single jet to him anymore."

Wolfgang and his dark skinned companion walked off. Danny meanwhile turned around and went inside the diner. The old woman in a gray shirt smiled at him.

"Thank you, young man. Look at how they turned tails," she laughed. "Here, take this."

The woman gave him a small purse, which let a sound of ringing caps. Danny didn't make a sign of taking it.

"Keep them," he smiled. "Just food will be fine. I've been walking all night."

The woman blinked. "I never thought I'd see the day. Are you sure?"

"Yep. Whiskey to me and my dog, please."

She blinked. Danny chuckled. "Just kidding. Do you have bacon or something?"

"Look, kid, I don't know where you came from, but we don't do that here," the woman then smiled. "I can give you the brahmin steak, though."

"Eat the remnants of the mutated cow? Sure."

Trudy had never seen such a weird person before. Not that she complained, but it was nice that such people were still out there. Danny patiently waited until the steak was ready. While waiting, he notoced a young man around his physical age sitting on the floor, hugging his knees. So that was the kid Wolfgang had been talking about. Phantom expected him to be younger, but nevertheless, he didn't seem to be eager for the conversation, unlike his mother.

Once Trudy put the plate on the table, Danny put the piece of meat in his mouth. It was really tasty. She started to speak.

"What could bring such a young man out to the wasteland?" Trudy asked.

"Well, I'm traveling. It is a nice change from how I am used to live."

"Don't you have a family?"

Danny stopped cutting the piece of meat. He looked up at her, and the woman never saw a look like this.

"My family has been dead for a long time," the raven haired man commented.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't know," Danny went back to eating. "Anyway, have you seen any minutemen by any chance?"

"What could you possibly want with them?"

"Join them, of course," Phantom beamed. "I want to help people."

"You are a bit late, boy. They are mostly killed off."

"So..."

"Yes, I have seen them, went to Concord."

After finishing his food, and after Cujo chewed the bone, the two continued their path. Same boring road awaited them. But soon a settlement, consisting mostly of the wooden houses, came into view. They walked through the narrow streets, past the white crumbled church. Suddenly Danny heard shooting sounds. Immediately he leaped towards its source, while being careful, looking out for flying bullets. Phantom got to the central street.

In its end was a big building, and on the balcony stood a strange dark skinned guy, who was wearing the uniform out of XVIII century. His weapon was even more weird, but despite the peculiar construction, it was a laser weapon, meaning it was quite advanced. More than that of his attackers - a gang of raiders. Just on Danny's eyes another guy in the uniform was shot near the front entrance. Phantom decided to intervene. While everyone was firing at the balcony shooter, Danny pulled the strange weapon from the corpse, it slid across the ground and jumped into his hand.

Phantom examined the gun. It looked like a musket, with several pieces from the green laser carbine, along with the glass tube in the middle, connected to the handle. Raising his eyebrow, Danny made a spin. The red energy was concentrated in the tube, making Phantom grin widely. He phased through the nearest wall and ran upstairs for the better firing position. He used to command the squadrons, he knew what to do. Once on the second floor, Danny peaked out of the window slightly, before pulling the trigger. A red beam jumped from inside the musket, blowing up the raider's head after the impact.

"Up there!" Someone shouted, firing at his spot.

Danny hid behind the wall. No need to show the surprise just yet. He wanted to keep things interesting. Phantom grinned and became invisible. He flew to another end of the street, and from there he shot another raider. He had a good laugh when they thought that they were being ambushed. He noticed that one of them managed to get inside the building.

"Take care of him, Cujo," Danny said calmly, shooting another raider.

Cujo nodded and ran off. The guy on the balcony seemed to appreciate the disorder in the gang as he shot and killed even more bandits.

Phantom heard a scream from downstairs and smirked.

"Good boy."

He then repeated his trick, but now he landed behind the car on the street. He put the musket on the ground and took the machine gun from his back. Damn, he loved this wasteland! Danny removed the fuse and stood up.

"Hey, assholes!" He shouted, causing all raiders to look at him.

He pressed the trigger and unleashed the torrent of bullets. Their reaction was priceless. Danny was out of ammo, but he still put the gun on his back. Cujo ran next to him.

"You down there!" the man from the balcony shouted. "We've got the settlers here, some of the raiders broke inside, help us, please!"

Danny looked down at Cujo and shrugged. After picking up the musket, he ran inside the building, on his way he read the name 'Independence museum'. Breaking through the doors, Phantom looked around. The entrance hall was huge, with a large panoramic picture of the Independence war above the wide and straight staircase. He saw raiders on the second floor, and, deciding to have little fun, Phantom used telekinesis to pull the bandits over the edge, since the railings had been broken long ago. With loud cries they fell. It never stopped being amusing. Danny shook his head and continued his path.

The entance gates were closed, but he simply phased through. Then up the stairs, around the corner, shooting another raider there. Through the multiple museum exhibitions, starting from the first colonists, who had given Danny unpleasant memories, ending with the famous declaration, fake one, of course. After killing some more raiders, he put the musket aside and knocked on the locked door on the third floor. No one opened.

"Ya know, it's rude to keep your savior outside," he called.

The lock immediately turned and the door was opened. Danny went into the room. It was a small office which had probably belonged to the director. Maybe that skeleton in the corner used to be him. There were only five people. There were two Asians, the male seemed like a nervous wreck, while the woman was pacing around angrily. There was also an elderly woman in a bathrobe and the fluffy slippers. Near the terminal was a man dressed in a blue working jumpsuit, with spiky hair. Everyone looked at the entrance, and the dark skinned guy approached Danny.

"Damn, I don't know who you are, but it was impressive."

"Thank you," Phantom responded curtly, not quite sure about how to proceed.

"Preston Garvey, Commonwealth minuteman," Preston outstretched his hand for a handshake.

Danny flipped the musket in his left hand and shook Garvey's right one. "Danny Fenton...So...are these your comrades or..."

"No, I'm afraid," Garvey's look saddened. "I'm the only minuteman left."

Phantom's lips thinned. "And here I hoped to join you. Oh, well, better than nothing."

"While this is good and all," the man in plumber suit called. "These weren't the last raiders."

"Yeah," Preston said grimly. "We have a plan, though, Sturges, tell him."

"There is a vertibird on the roof. Old, Pre-war, and there is a suit of power armor, accompanied by a minigun."

Danny whistled. "A pile of rusty junk? I start to doubt that the raiders are so tough as you are imagining."

"Are you serious right now?"

"Precisely. But the minigun may be useful...Oh my god, is this the RobCo Fun issue number 13? I never had this one."

Everyone froze in surprise when Danny diverted his attention to the magazine on one of the tables. He also found another blondie bobble-head. His collection was expanding! Once Phantom realized he was being watched, he regained his composure and fixed the nonexistent tie, coughing awkwardly.

"Anyways, let's get started."

"How are you going to lift a heavy weapon without the power armor?" Sturges asked.

"I'm stronger than I look," Danny waved his hand nonchalantly, walking out of the room.

He found the stairs leading to the outside. When half of the building is destroyed, this half becomes the outside. There was a crashed vehicle, reminiscent of the helicopter, but with two propellers to the left and right. Danny looked at the power armor. It was in acceptable condition, someone else could wear it, Phantom never liked those. The minigun was inside the vertibird. Danny picked it up with no effort, examining its condition. With a whir it started to spin. Well, it just worked.

Suddenly Phantom heard the shooting. He needed to get to the place where all the fun was. In a few jumps over the pieces of debris, Danny got to the roof, while still holding the minigun. Oh, it was going to be fun. Phantom saw one of the raiders on the roof across the street. Once he pressed the trigger, the weapon started to spin. And the whirring caught the attention, but the bandit didn't have time to react as about ten 5-mm bullets flew through him.

Danny then jumped to the ground. There was a certain pressure on his legs, but nothing he couldn't manage. No one noticed him landing, that's why his appearance was a surprise. Phantom almost was falling deaf from the constant shooting of the minigun. He used his ice powers to cool the metal, which was becoming pale from the heat. It was a pure inferno: bullets, Garvey's laser shots, Molotov cocktails were flying around, but to no avail, minor nuclear explosions occurred after these projectiles hit the cars' fuel tanks. Danny remained unscathed as he cornered the last raider.

"Any last words?" He asked with a wicked smirk.

The bandit was shaking, as he had previously dropped his gun. He looked behind the half ghost and his skin became white.

"The Deathclaw!" He exclaimed.

Now Danny heard the metal rumbling as well. He glanced back and saw that something was coming out of the sewers. And that were not ninja turtles, that was the beast the scouting corps had encountered. While Phantom was distracted, the raider ran off as fast as he could. Danny turned around completely, looking at the three meters tall creature. Without any preparation, the Deathclaw lunged forward, swinging its clawed hands.

Phantom jumped aside, on two meters, unbelievable distance for someone carrying forty kilos. He opened fire, but the beast shrugged them off. Danny had to drop the weapon, for the magazine was empty. It was time to stretch his ectoplasm-filled muscles. When the Deathclaw swiped its hand again, Phantom turned intangible in order to get closer. Then he elbowed the beast in its belly, sending it backwards for a few steps.

"Alright, you overgrown chameleon, let's see who is stronger," Danny cracked his knuckles, before noticing a cut on his jacket and hand, which was dripping with ectoplasm.

The Deathclaw ran forward, but suddenly it was pinned to the ground. By a gargantuan green dog not a tiniest bit smaller than the creature. The lizard threw its hand and pushed Cujo off, not able to use its claws. In one swift motion the beast got on its legs. But then it was hit by a green beam. The Deathclaw roared in pain, before the ghost dog got on top of it. The previous action would have been repeated, if Danny didn't suddenly grab one of the creature's horns and snapped it like a toothpick. The broken horn was a perfect weapon for stabbing. And it was used properly, Phantom stabbed the beast's head. It was dead.

Sighing and wiping the nonexistent sweat, Danny grinned.

"Good job, boy, down," he said to the huge dog, which then barked loudly, dripping saliva around, shrinking to the size of the puppy. He jumped into Danny's arms, licking his master's cheek. Phantom laughed and scratched behind Cujo's ear. "Alright, let's go."

They returned to the Independence museum. There, in the main hall, Danny saw the group, along with Preston. The dark skinned man looked at the entrance and his look turned into something between fear and awe.

"I have a lot of questions, but I'll ask only one," Garvey approached the man, who was much older than him. "What are you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You just wrestled with a goddamn Deathclaw! And everything you've got is this scratch, which, by the way, is leaking NOT blood."

Danny looked away. "And here I hoped that it's going to be less obvious. Probably shouldn't have used my power so actively. Well, I am the King of the Dead, a ghost, nice to meet you.

Preston narrowed his eyes. "I need the truth."

Danny narrowed his blue ones. And the look actually gave them shivers. "You demand too much from someone who has saved your ungrateful butts."

Garvey's look softened and he actually seemed ashamed. "You are right, sorry. It's your skeleton in the closet. Anyways, you have mentioned something about joining the minutemen?"

"Well, that was before I learned that you are the only guy around. But...my intention stands."

"Oh, yes, a kind unselfish goodie-two-shoes," The Asian woman said venomously.

"Add to that the wittiest and the cleanest man in the wasteland," Danny grinned innocently, not showing any sign of being offended.

Now everyone noticed that he was really cleaner than anyone in the room. Of course he was, a bottle with shampoo was in his bag. Speaking of, he really needed to recall where he had left it. Phantom then sighed and looked at Garvey.

"Look, I just want to make this world better. That's what I've been doing for the most of my life."

Preston beamed. "Of course! You can join, sometimes it is good to be the only one left. No one to question your decision."

"Such thoughts lead to tyranny, Preston," Danny said, taking a wise-crack tone. He may look young, but he had centuries of experience behind his back. Not that the others believed him, but Garvey's look became thoughtful.

"Anyways, what's the course of action?" Phantom asked.

"Well, Mama Murphy said that there is a settlement to the North-west," Sturges put in.

"You mean what she saw once she was freaking high?"

"Jesus, girl, weren't you spanked enough in your childhood?" Danny asked in annoyance.

"Girl?! I'm twice older than you!"

"Hey, hey, let's not argue," Sturges interrupted. "Marcy, do you have a better option?"

No response. "No? Then let's get going. You coming, newbie?"

Danny grinned. "Sure thing."


	5. Chapter V: The beginnings

"Ah, Sanctuary Hills, so beautiful," Danny said sarcastically.

It was to be expected that even luxurious suburbs couldn't be left unscathed after the bombs fell. The group went over the half crumbled wooden bridge. The small one story buildings were lining the dented road. Rusty cars were near the houses, under the roofs sticking from the buildings specifically to cover them from the rains. It wasn't much of help, since the ceilings were filled with holes.

"Isn't much of a cozy place," Preston commented.

"Well, luxurious hotels are kind of extinct," Danny responded. "I once survived in a forest infested with mutants, tied to a woman who wanted to kill me herself. Compared to that, sleeping under such roof is a blessing."

"Damn, kid, where were your parents looking?" Sturges asked.

"Dunno," Danny shrugged. "But they are dead right now, anyways."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the pompadour haired man said awkwardly.

"Don't be, I've dealt with this long ago. People live, people pass, such is the way of life."

Once again, the group found that the kid seemed to be much older than he looked. Preston suddenly got a question.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Heh, my teenage years were filled with fighting for my dear little life. Or what remained of it. Lately I've been living in royal conditions, I had delicious food, I was protected by a hundred of bodyguards, but it just felt so dull. That's why I set off to explore this radiation infested world. So much danger and thrill."

Sturges whistled. "Is your family a bunch of big shots?"

"Well, only me. I don't have a family whatsoever. I killed one nasty guy, and some of the locals are ready to worship me because of it. They already do. I was put in charge of that land, despite my age. Now they can fare without me for a few months. Then I'll go back to my duties as their leader."

The conversation came to an end. The group needed to take care of their living conditions. They picked the less destroyed house, which looked like a typical advertisement of American dream. Danny volunteered to do the hard labor. He brought the scrap pieces from around the neighborhood, killing a few oversized roaches in the process, in order to cover the holes. The humans were surprised that someone so agile in combat could be so clumsy at the same time. Phantom hit his fingers a few times as he worked with nails, causing everyone to laugh.

The house still looked like a piece of garbage, but it was more tolerable. The group at from the scarce source - a few tin cans with beans which they warmed up over the fire. They were supposed to sleep where they could, someone on the sofa, someone on the bed. Neither of those were in satisfactory condition. Danny stayed awake, saying that he would be on the lookout. Preston insisted that Phantom woke him up in the middle of the night. The half ghost had no such intention, he could stay for its entirety.

After everyone fell asleep, Danny quickly got bored. After all, there was nothing to do. He got up and decided to have a short walk around. Sanctuary seemed dull and lifeless, just like everything he had seen so far. He walked down the street, shot a few roaches with ectoblasts, not willing to waste ammo others might need in the future. But that just wasn't funny. Danny wanted adventures, not work as a sanitation cleaning, that's why he came into that world.

Once Phantom returned to the house, he suddenly saw that Preston was awake, leaning against the doorway. He narrowed his eyes at the ghost.

"I asked you to wake me up."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Relax, I just went scouting. Nothing but roaches around here."

The dark skinned man sighed. "I guess there is a discipline to be learned."

"Believe me, you haven't seen a discipline yet," Phantom deadpanned.

Finally they sat at the stone porch, neither intending to go to sleep. Cujo got to his Master, receiving gentle strokes, much to his excitement.

"So...do you have any plans for reviving your organization?" The ghost asked.

"Honestly," Garvey leaned forward, leaning on his musket for support. "I don't know. People aren't keen on joining the Minutemen after what happened at Quincy."

Danny decided not to pry into the topic, as he saw that the man seemed uncomfortable talking about it. "You are not going to give up, I hope."

"Of course not, I'm just...at loss."

Phantom smiled and jumped on his feet. "Well, I admit, there is a lot of work to do," he said, putting hands on his hips. "But nothing we cannot manage, I have seen worse. I have a plan, if you are willing to follow."

Preston couldn't help but be impressed. The seemingly younger man was shining with certainty and confidence he had never seen before. Could you blame him? He had spent all his life in a wasteland, in a daily struggle for survival. The wide smile of his only added to the inspiring image. Preston smiled as well.

"Go on."

"Okay, first of all, we need to make people know that we are still here, ready to help. The easiest way for this will be taking and repairing a radio station. Better if it will be infested with some dangerous folk."

"Why?"

"Because we will kill two birds with one stone, we will show that we are still strong. Do you know any around?"

"There was one in the Castle, but there is too few of us to retake it from mirelurks now."

"Well, I probably could, but we have to make a show out of it. Okay, this will have to wait...okay, new plan."

"I'm all ears."

"I can gather the information about the places in need of help. We will have to do it free of charge."

"Of course, Minutemen are about this," Garvey agreed as if it was obvious.

"Impractical, but noble," Danny noted, shrugging. "Very well. How are we going to split the responsibilities, though?"

"One will have to remain here in case something happens."

"I know. I think I'll do the job. You remain here and watch over the group."

"Got it, boss," Preston saluted and smirked. "Maybe you should have a sleep, first?"

"Nah, I don't want to. Better if you return to your comfy sofa. Actually, I can move out right now."

Garvey's expression became dry. "I guess it's pointless to try to convince you otherwise."

"Yep. I saw a farm on the way here, distant one. Maybe they need something, who knows. You know what? Cujo can guard your buddies. Let's do it together. The sun is rising."

And off Phantom went, followed by his new colleague. They crossed the broken bridge again and immediately turned off the damaged road, deciding to shorten their way. It was surprising how grassy the land looked, although the two headed stags running around was a creepy sight, even for the king of the dead. Soon the group reached their destination, and Danny's sight hadn't failed him. It was indeed a farm. A big wooden shack was built around the pylon of power lines. Thankfully there was no electricity. Around it were fenced territories, with visible crops of cultures unknown to him. Some people were working there. The minutemen approached the place.

Their mission came to the halt when Danny heard a gun clicking. He turned to the side and saw an aged auburn haired man with a beard, dressed in casual rags, which seemed to be the peak of post apocalyptic fashion. Oh, and he was holding a hunting rifle. Danny casually looked at him, well, actually the end of the gun, while Preston prepared his own.

"What a charming welcome," Phantom said dryly.

"We don't want any trouble."

"Do I look like I need them?" Danny put a hand on his chest, sounding offended.

"You are armed, I don't know you two, that's a concern enough."

"Welcome to the wasteland," Phantom responded. "We are the minutemen. Need any help?"

"Minutemen? I thought you all have been killed off."

"Not all of them," Garvey answered with enthusiasm.

He was about to add the detail that there were only two of them, but Danny cut him off. "So, need any assistance?"

The man finally lowered his weapon after certain consideration. "Blake Abernathy," he said his name. "I think you can help. If you manage. There has been a raider attack...my daughter Mary was killed by them," it was obviously hard to speak about the matter. "I don't have much to offer, but...those raiders, they took her locket, too. It's been in my wife's family for generations. If you get it back, it'd mean a lot to us."

Danny pitied the poor man. But besides his will to help, Phantom could look at the matters with a pragmatic eye. The farm was big, it could supply his future organization with food at the start, until it gets too big. It was a win-win situation. Danny smiled.

"Of course we will help, right, Preston?"

The man nodded. "It is our job."

"Thank you. We will be waiting. The raiders' base is out there," he pointed in certain direction. "You won't miss it, a place with big disks."

"You mean radar station?"

Everyone looked at him weirdly. Clearly they didn't know what radar was. Hunching his shoulders, Danny sighed.

"Once again I realize how backwards this place is. Onwards, wanna sing? I'll start. How does a bastard orphan, son of a whore and a scotsman..."

"He is...weird..." Abernathy said slowly.

"I know. But he is more than capable, believe me," the minuteman responded.

Danny thankfully stopped singing after ending the first song. They finally reached the destination, the radars could be clearly seen. The disks were full of plants and other signs of age. White paint had cracked in many places, covered by a thick layer of rust. There were small hubs beneath, which had been used for maintenance. Phantom hummed.

"I see raiders around. We'll need to get rid of them first."

"They have number superiority," Preston noted.

"Indeed, but we can force them to fight on our rules. We can attack from two sides. I open fire, they will turn to me. That's when you are going to step in and shoot at their backs."

Garvey nodded, not at all phased about being given commands. Phantom nodded in response and ran off. Through the bushes he got to the opposite side from the station. He then picked the first unlucky victim. The man stood leaning on the railing, which was perfect in Danny's opinion. He rolled the handle and the musket glowed with the same bright crimson color. Aiming right into the raider's head, he pressed the trigger. A red beam turned the man's head into a blood mess, as the body fell off on the ground. That got everyone's attention.

Phantom turned invisible before anyone could see him. The half ghost approached the raiders. Hiding behind one of the small hubs, Danny waited. Once one of the bandits ran around the corner, he pushed him into the wall, leaving a dent on it. He snatched the pistol from his belt, turning visible and making a hole in the raider's head.

"Come out, you wor..."

The one shouting it received a deadly reminder of the second minuteman. Danny abandoned the pistol, put the musket on his back, and his hand glowed with green light as a small ball the size of the golf one appeared in it. The half ghost went around the corner and hurled it to the enemies' cover. The explosion was marvelous in its destructiveness, it shaved off half of one of the hubs. The firing subdued as Garvey shot down the last bandit. The dark skinned man went through the crippled iron fence and approached his comrade.

"There wasn't many," he commented.

"Which means there is more inside," Phantom responded. "Won't be my first time getting into a military object. We need to pick the most bunker like...oh, here it is."

They went to the concrete construction. There wasn't much to look at, besides the pieces of junk scattered everywhere. But there was a door. It was locked.

"Let me," Danny grinned. "Wanna see some magic?"

"I won't be surprised at all," Preston said dryly.

The raven haired man got to work. While his companion could only see his back, Danny phased his fingers inside the mechanism and turned it better than any key.

"Ta-da, thank you, dear audience," the half ghost said.

Garvey made a few claps with his hands. They later went downstairs and Danny commanded to stay quiet. Preston noted with amusement how quickly his friend could switch between being a goofball and a smart leader. The Ghost King was such kind of person, his subjects learned it long ago. The Minutemen went down, carefully disarming the traps noticed by Phantom. They saw another locked door, and through the plastic glass Danny could see weapons. A hell tone of weapons. Grinning from ear to ear, Phantom opened the metal door.

"What are you planning to do with those?" Preston asked.

"I thought it is obvious, my friend. We can arm our future soldiers. I suppose here is enough for about thirty. If we don't count this baby."

Danny pointed at the primitive looking weapon. It looked like a miniature, hand held catapult. In it was what seemed like a tiny stereotypical nuclear bomb. Garvey stared at it.

"The Fat Man," he gasped.

Phantom raised his eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"It launches tiny nuclear bombs, the devastation and radiation included."

Danny smirked. "I'm eager to use it already," he said, scooping the weapon on his shoulder. "Onwards!"

"You are going to get us killed!" Preston exclaimed. "It cannot be used in close environment!"

"Fine!" Danny said like a small kid, whose toy had been taken away.

Phantom went forward. There was another floor beneath, but he could observe what was happening there from a metal platform. No one was there. They went downstairs, and Danny decided to speak.

"It's obviously a trap."

"Probably."

"No, I'm certain. We are surrounded," Phantom said calmly. "Hey, come out now, your hiding skills are pathetic!"

Immediately the lights were turned on. About ten raiders were surrounding them. Garvey flinched as there was no cover whatsoever. Danny remained calm as the armored lady with a minigun stepped forward.

"Well, well, so that's what has been causing the trouble," she said.

"Yep. Wanna have some more or we are going to end it quickly? Oh, what am I talking about, they always pick the first option," Danny rambled, rubbing his face.

"You are outnumbered."

"This is unfair," Preston complained, knowing fully well that fairness is something long forgotten in the wasteland.

The raiders laughed, while Danny found his nails interesting.

"Alright, off with you," the gang leader said, as her minigun started to spin.

Suddenly they all were pinned to the walls, the same second Phantom swapped his hands. He twisted his palms lightly and they were now off ground. The horror was evident in the bandits' eyes. And Preston was terrified as well, even if the attack didn't touch him. He saw Danny's eyes, and they were glowing with a radioactive color.

"My friend here has told you it was unfair," the half ghost said, his voice letting out a soul freezing echo. "You should have brought more people. Now, where is the locket you've taken from Abernathy?"

"Wh-what?!"

"The. Locket." Phantom said, and a pressure on the bandit's neck emphasized his point.

"It's in the pocket!"

"Preston, my hands are kind of occupied. Would you kindly?" Danny asked.

Gulping, the minuteman approached the hanging bandit and dug in her pockets. There indeed was a silver locket.

"Preston, we happy?" Phantom asked.

"Yes, we happy," Garvey managed to say.

"Good."

Danny clenched his fists and multiple cracks told about the deaths of the bandits. Preston only stared, and he saw that the half ghost's eyes turned blue again as the bandits' corpses fell on the ground.

"What...the hell..."

Danny crossed his hands. "I can do a lot, Preston. And I like to see this scum fear me."

"How?"

Phantom decided not to speak about the royal status again. "Radiation doesn't only decay flesh. I was lucky. I hope it doesn't..."

"You should have told me," The minuteman mumbled. "I have nothing against mutants. If they aren't huge, stupid and green. And if they don't try to eat me."

Danny smiled, putting a hand on his belt. "Well, I fit in neither of this categories, right?"

"Yeah, you don't," Preston said after a moment of silence. "These bandits deserved what came to them. I'm glad we are on the same side."

"Believe me, my friend. We have a lot to do, but with me we will be able to achieve what we seek. I have power beyond anyone's imagination, and I want to use it for the greater good."

"Even though I have no such power, I will try to do the same. I appreciate your intentions, so I won't judge your...unusual trait."

"Finally. Although, I have a request. Please, don't share this information. I'm not sure that people would react as good as you have."

Preston nodded. "I understand. Your secret is safe."

"Okay. Let's go now, we've got the locket."

Danny hoped that the dark skinned man wouldn't ask any further. His hopes were in vain. Once they were going through the old path, Preston asked him a question.

"So, how did you become like...this?"

"Well," Phantom sighed. "My parents were scientists. There was an accident, I almost died, but got these powers. AND. I'd rather not to tell what exactly I can do. Until the time comes, if you don't mind."

The Minutemen returned to the farm, finding Abernathy inside the shack. The door was barely standing, so Danny took it as an invitation inside. The man was sitting at the table, drinking on a brown bottle with some unknown liquid. His eyes caught a glimpse of the visitors. The man got up and approached them.

"So quick?" He asked.

Danny smirked, showing the piece of jewelry. "Here is your locket. Don't know why you asked to retrieve it instead of killing that scumbags, but we did all the job nevertheless."

Abernathy's eyes widened and his hands started to shake. He gently picked the locket, as if he had found the Holy Graal. For him, it obviously was just as important. The man opened the locket and looked at the image.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "Connie will be so happy. I don't know how to thank you..."

"I have an idea," Danny responded, much to Preston's surprise.

"We aren't doing it for money!" He exclaimed.

"No one said anything about money, my friend," Phantom smirked at his confused expression. "We need supplies. You grow a lot of food, and since I'm planning on attracting settlers to Sanctuary Hills, we'd need them. Of course, we will pay for them, but I need to be sure that you bring enough."

Abernathy hummed. "Well, this sounds like a good deal. Alright, I agree."

He outstretched his hand for a handshake, and Danny shook it. The deal was sealed. Phantom indeed planned to attract more people. Not many were keen on protecting the land. But when the land was theirs, people tended to take up the guns. He was going to train them, make true soldiers out of the crowd. And if they were willing, the Minutemen were going to grow, turning into a military power of his own, bringing peace and order to that burned wasteland.

But it had to wait, and if there was something the ghost could have, it was time.


	6. Chapter VI: A new companion

Connections were a very good thing, Danny came to realize it long ago, during the beginning of his rule. It was good that he knew one particular newspaper, or the main redactor, to be exact. Piper was more than happy to publish an article about the Minutemen's survival. Danny planned on spreading propaganda in order to get more recruits in his military organization. Yes, there wasn't a note of democracy, but, hey, it wasn't what anyone had in mind exactly.

Phantom remembered the list of human priorities. First, they needed food and water to satisfy their physical needs. Security followed after the roof above the head, and since the previous two steps were more or less solved by themselves, Minutemen were just what people needed now, more than arts, travels and other esthetic joys. It was going to be a while until then. Danny's efforts were exactly on this. There was no point in just saving people, besides genuine concern. They needed to move forward.

The article worked, besides, Piper agreed to print a few posters. She had the only print around, Danny simply offered to do some repairs as it seemed pretty rusty. It was a fair exchange. The posters were quite funny, Phantom tasked one of the ghosts back home to come up with the design. She did an admirable job, even if it was rather cliche. But the locals probably didn't even know what the word meant. Danny had a good laugh.

Here he was, standing in a black and white coat of the end of XVIII century, with all additional parts, minus the wig, with laser musket in one end and another hand pointing at the reader. Now Danny really wanted such coat. It was yet to be made by a tailor. Because the Minutemen lacked proper skills and resources, Phantom also requested to start making standardized armor and clothes. Muskets could be made by the humans, however. Army always began there, from organization.

Several settlers, with families or not, arrived to the former suburban housing estate. Phantom organized a training ground. He recruited ten new soldiers. Well, twelve was more than two. Danny being unofficially in charge was the worst thing imaginable for them. Early in the morning they were forced to jog around under his watch, then exercises and finally breakfast. After that everything continued, making the new Minutemen crash on the bed from exhaustion. Danny was careful, though, he didn't want them to be over-exhausted.

Sometimes he allowed them to take rest, often he gave them rest in order to rebuild the settlement. Despite being a stern in terms of trainings, he showed with his entirety his empathy and eagerness to help with every issue the settlers had.

Preston never saw such trainings even when the Minutemen were still at large. They used to be a militia, after all. He was still wary of the 'mutant' who was doing the job. It made him wonder, with such power Phantom could do a lot of things, some of which were horrific to even think about them. Yet, he was helping people, even if they couldn't see it at the moment during the extensive trainings. It made the dark skinned man respect the seemingly younger man more and more.

But the issue of leadership still remained. Technically, he was in charge. He was a Minuteman for a longer time, but he didn't want to be the leader, he didn't have a talent, or at least he thought so. Ever since Danny came into picture, the half ghost was the one to do all the job and command. And that issue was the one Preston was going to solve that day. He went to the training ground, where Phantom was at the moment.

Preston heard multiple whirring sounds. The training was in process at the moment. It was a cleared piece of land behind the crumbled buildings. In one end was a small arsenal with weapons and ammo, in another stood several mannequins Danny had found in god knows what abandoned store. The guy had an unlimited energy. Several red beams hit the targets, some missed. Phantom was standing near one mid-aged Minuteman.

"No, put your legs away a bit," Danny advised. "If they are close, your stance will be less firm. The recoil will make you miss. It concerns everyone!" He said a bit louder.

The soldier nodded and spun the handle. The muskets looked just as primitive. Danny was considering making them more modern looking, but they had no resources for this. Preston coughed in order to gain attention. He had long since noticed that Danny could hear it even over the sound of shots. Phantom indeed turned around and beamed.

"Preston, is there something you need?"

"Uhm, yes, can we talk in private?"

"Sure thing. You can have a break, boys and girls!"

They sighed in relief and Danny pretended like he didn't hear it. Two Minutemen walked off to the distance. Once Preston made sure no one was looking, he started to speak.

"Look, Fenton, there is something what bothers me."

Danny sighed. "Is it about my...condition?"

"No, of course not. I had some time to deal with it. Even though it was creepy."

"Well," Phantom laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Only now Preston noticed that his teeth were a bit sharper than needed. Probably had something to do with the mutation as well. "I sometimes get like that. Years of holding back speak for themselves. I swear, it'll only be targeted towards enemies, I can control myself."

"Right. Anyways, I thought we need to think about the leadership gap."

"Gap? I thought you were in charge."

Preston blinked. "You can't be serious. You were the one doing everything!"

"Am I?" Danny looked at the settlement. It had become more livable under his leadership indeed. He hadn't even noticed. "We did it together, didn't we?"

Garvey started to laugh, shaking his head. "You are the most clueless guy I've met. I've done a little to nothing. I just helped in building a shack and taught the newbies how to use muskets. That's all."

"Why are you saying this?" Danny raised his eyebrow. "Wanna put me in charge?"

"Exactly," Preston smiled, putting a hand on his companion's shoulder. "You are the one we need."

"Well, can't say I didn't have this in my mind, but are you sure? You know me for a little more than three weeks."

"And I have already learned about your abilities. Not that 'powers', but what kind of a leader you are. So, what do you say?"

"Okay. I guess there is no one to question our decision."

Preston nodded. "Yeah, being the only full fledged Minutemen has own advantages...General."

Phantom whistled. "Now that's a promotion."

"The leader of the Minutemen has always had such rank. Congratulations."

"I won't let you down, guys. We will make America great again," Danny smirked, recalling the events happened two and a half centuries ago.

"I'm sure of it. So, do you have any plans of what we should do now?"

"Actually, yes, I do. We are making money by selling the raiders' ownings they won't longer need, for obvious reasons, but this isn't a proper way of earning money. One day we will run out of raiders. We need something to offer, since the Minutemen are not taking anything for the protection. I have a plan, and I am about to put it into fruition. Actually, I have a job for ya."

"Me?"

"Yes. You and our group. I want to see how you fair without me, even if this job is nothing to worry about. The group of settlers asked to clean up a spot for the their settlement. In exchange they will join the special system of my creation. They will come under our protection and allow us, or me, since I have a new rank, take some minor government-like decisions."

"I see."

"Very well. Your destination is an open air restaurant 'Starlight'. Nothing more than molerats, I presume. Be prepared to move out."

The group of five Minutemen, plus Preston, walked in direction given to Danny, to the South-East. The half ghost himself gave orders to the remaining wannabe soldiers to change shifts, patrolling the settlement. Phantom set off, accompanied by his loyal puppy hellhound. But he didn't go directly to the place, no, he got to the meeting point. With his other subordinates.

In a secluded place, namely the remnants of what looked like a summer camp. Several broken wooden houses, skeletons in boy scout outfit, the usual business in the wasteland. A blue wisp came out of the half ghost's mouth.

"Alright, Skulker, you can come out now," Danny called loudly.

The armored man dropped his invisibility and landed in front of the King.

"Whelp," The hunter greeted.

"Hello, tin can," Phantom smiled. "How are you doing?" He asked as they sat on a log.

"Pretty well. I still can't find the remote, though, and Ember is still angry."

Danny burst laughing, throwing his head back, almost falling off the seat. Skulker seemed not happy about this.

"Have you tried searching in the desk of your workshop?" Phantom raised his eyebrow.

"Huh."

"Get to business, please."

"Fine. The situation in the Ghost Zone is stable and well. Choosing Frostbite as a Lord Regent was a nice decision. The Council won't argue against your adventures, not like they ever did it more than once. Most of them yet again praise your ingenuity," Skulker rolled his eyes. "Conquering Human World without spilling a single drop of ectoplasm, by making humans fight instead of us."

Danny snorted. Then he listened to the report about the interesting things and rumors his scouts and invisible agents discovered. Rumors about the scary things in Salem museum (Danny actually shivered at this), Battle Zone within the Boston theatre. There was also an information about settlements, big and small. And, as the King had ordered, all of the locations were marked there, and the ghost scouts weren't spotted.

After taking a look at the map, Danny proceeded to tell about his own efforts, so that the hunter could tell the situation to the senators. His rule was based on responsibility of all citizens, even himself, before their Kingdom. So he reported to the Council, and thus to the citizens, about his deeds. Of course, Skulker couldn't remember everything, only the main points. It was for the newspapers to write the details. It was going to be later.

Once Danny finished, Skulker got up in order to leave.

"Well, I also got your order. I can't understand why the hell you'd need such clothes," he pointed at the bag.

Phantom only grinned. "I want to look authentic."

Skulker only shook his head, before flying off using his jetpack. Danny dug in the bag. He finally got his coat. It consisted of the black coat itself, a white shirt, black trousers to be held up by a pair of braces, white boots. They were made of the light material. Despite how uncomfortable they looked, his clothes felt light and didn't falter his agility at all. There were also accessories, such as gorget, a plate of silver to protect his lower neck. It had a symbol of Minutemen engraved on it - crossed lighting and musket. It didn't feel tight either. And a triangular hat, of course. Danny was really having a time of his afterlife.

Now he looked just like on the posters. Beneath the vibrant clothes was a silvery armor to protect his chest. Danny now looked like a leader of an organization, not a shady kid in a hoodie. His uniform was perfectly clean and without a single hole. Now the half ghost could go and do his job as the General of Minutemen.

Phantom went further to the south, following the railroad. He crossed Merrymack, shot a few raiders and mutants, usual day. He encountered yet another farm, growing the stuff seemed like an only proper business around the suburban area of Boston. Danny got some weird glances, but at the same time, some looked at him in awe. It was a bit complicated, but he got to the road again, because he had lost it a while ago. He got what he was searching for, but just in case Phantom took a look at his map.

There was a cave. Or what looked to be a cave. Danny knew what really was inside. He went inside. Even if at first everything he saw were stones, soon Danny saw it. The gear-like door to another vault. Unlike others, however, he had learnt that it was inhabited. Phantom could gain a lot from their cooperation. So, he just pressed a big red button, hoping that someone would respond.

"Hold right there, who the hell are you?" A voice sounded from the speaker.

"Daniel Fenton, the General of Minutemen. I'd like to talk to your...overseer."

"Ha, as if. And I am queen of England, boy."

"I'm surprised you actually know what England is," Danny said dryly. "If you don't let me in, I'll find my way, believe me."

"You really are..."

"Edwards, what's going on?" Another, female voice sounded.

"Overseer McNamara! There is some lunatic standing outside."

"Hey!"

"This is for me to decide. Sorry for my officer's behavior, he is right to be suspicious of the guests. We have rules for everyone who wants to come inside. Pay the fee."

"So I heard. But it's not like I can give it to you through the five meters thick plumbum door."

"Valid enough. Edwards."

"Yes, ma'am."

The door whirred and screeched loudly. It rolled to the side and a small bridge extended. Danny went forward, inside what probably looked like the only clean place around. There were several people in the similar blue jumpsuits with number '81'. They in turn watched him. They probably did know that he fit the image of a Minuteman. He stopped near a mid aged, slightly overweight redheaded woman, because she looked like she was the main one.

"So you are the one causing all the trouble," She crossed her hands.

"Well, I wouldn't say it like that," Danny laughed. "Anyways," He outstretched his white gloved hand. "Danny Fenton."

"Gwen McNamara. So, what is it you have to offer?"

"Well, I have nuclear fusion core."

Phantom took out a small yellow tube. "Everything is alright, nuclear reaction steadily goes. No leaks whatsoever."

"Hm...fine. It will do," the Overseer took the core. "Now. Why are you here?"

"As I said, I'm the leader of the Minutemen. We'd like to get any support we can, and so, I came to discuss the terms of our agreement."

"Many people won't support such decision...follow me."

"Ma'am, what about the dog? It glows." Edwards asked.

At his words Cujo barked, sticking out his tongue.

"Seems harmless to me," Gwen said.

Danny followed her down the elevator, and then to the office. The vault was very lively, making Phantom wonder what was so special about it. Two of the previous vaults died off, and in both of them horrific social experiments had been conducted. Putting an anarchist in charge of elite society for instance. Nevertheless, it was a nice change from the almost dead world above.

The office was nothing special. Just a room with a table and a desk in the middle. Several shelves with books and a radio. McNamara sat at her place, inviting Danny to sit in front of her. Phantom complied.

"So, what is that you need?"

"Simple. Only Vault dwellers can help the people above to make anything. If only you would share the blueprints and resources for purification of water and making electricity...it will help us make living in the Wasteland better."

"While it is good and all, I want to know what we will get in exchange."

"Oh, common, we help for free, why can't you?"

"Because we don't run around waving archaic weapons and wearing weapons from half a millenia ago."

Okay, that was a nice jab there. Danny respected it, but not appreciated.

"Fine...usually we kill raiders for that, but I doubt they are a bother to you. Our purpose is to help. And I personally am ready to."

"There is nothing for you to do here, General. We live peacefully without any major contacts with the outside world. But if you want to help, take a look around. You can walk around freely, as long as you don't break the rules."

Danny shrugged, although he was completely dissatisfied. Phantom got up and went out of the office. He strolled through the halls, thinking about what to do. On his way, Danny saw a classroom. Why he understood it? Well, there was a glass window. Because the population of the vault wasn't so big, it seemed that there wasn't any need for many classrooms. The teacher, a dark skinned woman, noticed him looking and decided to come outside. Danny hoped it wasn't because he looked like a pedophile.

"Hello, good sir," the teacher smiled. "Are you from the Wasteland?"

"Yeah...why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just had a spontaneous idea. For a long while, actually."

"Which is..."

"Oh, our kids are left inside for all their lives. I'd like you to tell them about what's going on outside. And about your adventures. Can you..."

Danny chuckled. "Oh, I have a lot to tell. Alright, I can spare my time."

The teacher went back inside. Danny followed her and was greeted by a class full of middle school students. It wasn't anything out of ordinary. And the children were watching him wide eyed. He stood in front of the class, and Danny got a long forgotten feeling of anxiety like he was answering questions.

"Children, today we have a special guest. From the Wasteland above."

"Woah," the children gaped at the half ghost. The latter felt really weird.

"How it's like there?" Some girl asked.

Danny smiled. It was his hour. "Well, it is hard for me to make any claims, for the place I am from seriously differs from Boston. My home, believe it or not, was untouched by bombs. Compared to the city above, or even your vault, my home is a heaven, which still holds memories and knowledge of the old world. But I was tired of living calm life, working in governmental apparatus for so long. I am an adventurous type."

"And you willingly got in dangers?"

"Exactly. But it doesn't mean that I cannot stand for myself. I even thought the deathclaw."

"So cool!"

"How did you do that?"

"I was fighting raiders, who had attacked the settlers. Then that overgrown chameleon climbed out of the sewers. Basically the place where it belongs, living on mirelurk diet."

Some kids snickered.

"It wasn't the biggest one I've seen. But. I was bored. I killed that beast with its own horn after ripping it out."

"Please, sir, not so graphical," the teacher asked, receiving a nod from the half ghost.

"Alright. Anyways, I killed it with bare hands."

"You are lying."

"No one can be that strong!"

Danny grinned, before looking at the other adult.

"Miss, would you kindly to remove your hands from the table?"

Raising her eyebrow, the woman complied. Then Phantom lifted her desk in the air with only one hand. Everyone stared at him.

"Not so strong, you say?" Danny smirked, setting the table on the ground.

"Well, it was a nice presentation, sir. But I'm afraid our lesson is near its end. Thank you again."

"It was an honor," Phantom theatrically took off the triangle hat and bowed.

The kids moaned in disappointment. Danny smiled.

"Don't worry kiddos, maybe we will talk again, I'm here for a while."

Phantom nodded and walked out of the room, feeling his mood brighten.

The following few hours were rather boring, even though eventful. He walked around the vault, meeting new people, sometimes helping with the maintenance. The workers were shocked at his level of knowledge about advanced technologies. Danny didn't spend his half human life for nothing. He got a Nobel prize once. By the end of his human world life he got a lot of influential acquaintances in scientific sphere, such as Mr. House. The man was rather arrogant, cynical and yet not foreign to compassion, especially to his home city of Las-Vegas. He had humanity's best hopes in mind. Danny wondered what happened to him afterwards.

Returning to the matters at hand, by the end of the day Phantom got himself a reputation, because the information spread quickly in tight conditions. As he was passing hospital wing, Danny saw that there was a fuss. Curious, Phantom entered. The people glanced at him, but then returned to the conversation. Danny noticed a preteen boy lying in what looked like a comatose state.

"Is everything so bad?" An old woman in a lab coat asked.

"I don't know what kind of disease it is," the dark skinned doctor said sadly. "He obviously got it from this molerat bite. Rachel is examining that creature. Who knows what kinds of diseases they carry?"

"How did it even get here?" The woman asked.

"I don't know Priscilla."

"I...I think it's because of me..." The man with an irokez haircut said shamefully. "I was hiding my goods in a secret place. There is an entire vault down there, just completely rundown. I found a terminal there, I started fiddling there. Austin followed me and got bitten...B-but there is an information! The experiments were carried there, and they seem to have administered the cure."

"Bobby, you are a genius, a junky, but genius!" The doctor said.

"But who will be willing to go..."

"I will," Danny finally stepped in, and his presence was finally noted again. "This is my job, after all."

"Oh, thank you, young man. Stay safe out there," Priscilla smiled genuinely.

"I'll show you the way," Bobby said.

Danny quickly followed him, as the very thin man decided to run. They got to the generator room, which was dirty as hell. Bobby led Phantom to the especially dirty corner. Before Danny could ask a question, the human kicked the wall with his leg, and it slid open, revealing another door. Without saying a word, the half ghost went forward. He needed to be quick.

Behind the door everything indeed seemed ugly. Rusty walls, flickering lights. The floor was covered in dirt, the layer was so thick that the molerats could actually dig their tunnels there. And his suspicion was true, the bloodthirsty predators jumped out, trying to eat him. Danny, seeing as the slow musket was pointless, started burning them alive with ectoblasts, as Cujo bit their necks. Neither of them was worried about the disease.

Phantom passed the speakers on the walls, and to the feeling of dread, he heard voices. Familiar ones, each speaker was used to earthsdrop on the dwellers of the vault. Danny's assumptions were correct. The eighty first vault was used for experiments as well. Phantom found the terminal, briefly reading the contents. It was quite a story. Apparently, the disease was to be grown inside the molerats. Afterwards the scientists were supposed to let it spread upon the citizens. But the overseer, the one before Gwen, was against it. The research was sabotaged, and that ruthless scientists were buried. Good riddance.

Downloading the journal down the special tape, Danny continued his way. Finally he entered the hall without dirt. Immediately he was greeted by three lockers on the ground. Judging from the burnt off candles, flowers on them, those were the graves. Bones inside only confirmed the point. As Phantom was passing the window, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Oh, a stranger!"

The French accent was so thick that you could touch it. The phrase was said by a robot on the other end of the window. The Miss Nanny robot was created by General Atomics International as the female equivalent of the Mister Handy. As such, it carried similar built-in armaments: two fingered hand, a hand with a buzzsaw and a hand with a flamethrower. It was floating above the air by using a small reactive engine. Everything was connected to the spherical head with three eyes. It had a white paint job. Danny remembered those. They were popular long before the war, even Sam's and Tucker's families used to have them. But Danny preferred his own servants.

"I proudly announce that my job has been done eighty three years and two months ago! Are you from Vault-tec?"

Her voice sounded much nicer than that of its fellow robots. The french accent made it rather cute, actually.

"Uhm...yes, I am."

"Oh, magnifique!" She said joyously. "Please, please, tell me you are authorized to let me open this door. Can I go now?"

"Yes, you can."

The robot immediately moved away from the view, before the door slid open. Danny went inside.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself!" She continued. "Je suis Contagions Vulnerability Robotic Infirmary Engineer, or Curie, if you wish to call me like that."

"Okay, Curie. I'm Danny," Phantom smiled. "So, about your work...what have you been doing?"

"I proudly declare that I have examined each case of molerat plague, and I have administered the cure, here, you can take it!"

She handed him a syringe, which Phantom took. He raised his eyebrow.

"Only one?"

"Oh, I deeply apologize, monsieur. I had enough material only for one syringe. There were so many unsuccessful tries."

She really sounded ashamed now, looking at the ground.

"Hey, I only needed one, anyway," Danny smiled, trying to reassure her. She seemed nice enough.

"I am glad. You don't mind if I follow you to the entrance? I won't be able to find a way on my own."

"Sure thing. Follow me."

Danny hurried to return to the main vault. Finally, he reached the medical bay. The same doctor was there, near the boy. He jumped from his seat once Phantom entered.

"Have you found it?" He asked.

Danny's response was handing the syringe. The doctor shared his initial surprise, but then just dealt with it, deciding to try it anyway. During the procedure, the overseer McNamara came into the room. She asked for an explanation. Once the syringe contents were inserted, Danny proceeded to tell the entire story he had found, handing the tape to the overseer. Needless to say that everyone was horrified. Phantom then said about Curie's achievement, making the robot to look away. If she could, she'd have blushed.

The boy's condition stabilized. Gwen looked at Danny.

"There is no telling how much we appreciate what you have done. You know what...we will give you the blueprints. You have deserved them."

"The honor is all mine, overseer," Danny smiled. "We Minutemen are ready to help at a minute's notice. I think I'll be going now, I'll return for the blueprints later. Have to check up on my comrades."

Gwen nodded.

Once Danny exited the room, he was confronted by Curie.

"Is there something you need, Curie?"

"If it is not a bother, monsieur."

At Phantom's nod, she continued.

"I have been trapped so many years. I believe it's customary to thank you for your role in saving me. My entire life has been in this vault. I have analyzed and learned everything there is to know here. So now I must see the rest of the Commonwealth. Consult with scientists. Unearth more data to challenge my hypotheses."

"That's a big task," Danny smiled. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"Down here is an enclosed system. And without the introduction of new mutagens, viruses, or bacteria is quite...dull, medically speaking, of course. The world up there is infinitely more complex. Who knows what diseases can be found and studied?"

"You sure seem excited about making research," Phantom rubbed his chin with an amused expression. "You want to follow me, don't you?"

"You seem as the most appropriate personne for this, of course I can stand for myself, I have a laser!" She raised one of her hands. So it wasn't a flamethrower. Well, that's a relief.

Danny laughed. "Okay, let's go."


	7. Chapter VII: Minutemen’s beginnings

"I find this place...most strange."

"Why so?" Danny turned to Curie.

They were just on the way to Sanctuary. The robot seemed curious about the surrounding world.

"My databases seem outdated. This is simply...effroyable."

Phantom chuckled at her frustration. "On the contrary. This knowledge may be quite useful in the future."

"In the future, monsieur. It doesn't help me now, but of course I will put my knowledge to the good use."

They passed a few meters, before Curie spoke again.

"Excuse me...Monsieur Fenton, may I ask a question?"

"Of course, go ahead."

"I've made a scan of your body in order to check your health..."

Danny froze on his place. He slowly turned around to face the floating machine.

"And..."

"Your life signs are in no way compatible with life. The body temperature is much below thirty six degrees, the heartbeat is too slow. And my processors are having a hard time to process such information. You sure are an interesting one!"

"Eh...thanks? What exactly are you going to do with this information?"

"Well, I might create a cure for your disease..."

Danny laughed, with a note of sad irony. "Believe me, Curie, THIS is something even you won't be able to reverse. I'm fine, I have been like that since I was fourteen. It is nothing serious, I assure you. Nevermind how that looks."

"Well, if you are sure of it, monsieur. My duty is to do no harm."

"Yet you killed that raiders. And the laser in your hand is not exactly for medical use."

"Why? It is used for complicated medical surgeries. I do not harm those I'm tasked to heal. It was self defense only."

"Great. I'm in a radioactive wasteland full of mutants, along with a pacifist robot."

Curie huffed and turned all her eyes away. Danny snickered quietly at her almost childish antics. She didn't have much social interactions. They soon got back to the settlement. Phantom was pleased that his men were on their posts. They immediately stood still as he passed them. Danny pleasantly noted that they were ogling his clothes in awe. He went up the street and stopped near the nearly fixed building. The holes were covered by the desks, showing off with their different color. The roof of the bungalow was fixed as well. There was the Minutemen banner hanging on the wall. Danny didn't know where they took it.

Once he went inside, the soldiers jumped from their seats. Some had been sitting on the chairs at the table, playing some card game, some were on the beds. With a gesture Danny told them to sit. He smiled brightly.

"Since you seem so relaxed, the mission was successful, I take it?"

"Of course, General!" Preston approached him and gave an honor sign. "The spot is cleared, the settlers are starting to come there. I'm curious though. What's that system you said about?"

"Simple. If you see a flare, go there immediately. Once we establish communications, it will be much easier."

"Who is that?" Preston asked, pointing at the robot.

"I am Curie, monsieur."

Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"I found her in the Vault 81. The Overseer, by the way, agreed for cooperation. We have their support."

Someone cheered. Preston then took notice of the General's new clothes.

"Where did you take this uniform?" He asked.

"I know one tailor. He makes wonderful outfits. Now, I won't distract you. Have rest, you deserved it, guys."

During the night Danny replaced the guard near the bridge and took the post himself. Soon after, the man heard the engine sounding behind him. Curie was there, eyeing him curiously.

"Was there something you needed, Curie?" Danny asked.

"Oh, Monsieur Fenton, I just came to notify you that spending so much time awake is bad for health."

Phantom chuckled. "I am in no need, thanks for your concern. I'm kind of bored, however, not a single soul to shoot at."

Danny leaned back in his seat and took a book he found. Curie moved to the side and one of her eyes focused on the cover.

"Hm, interesting choice," she commented. "Although quantum mechanics are not my field of science."

"Neither they are mine. But I have plenty of time to enlighten myself."

'Eternity,' Danny added sarcastically.

Suddenly his eye caught something. It was brief, a single flash on a distance of a mile. Danny jumped on his legs, catching the robot off guard. If it was a sniper, he wouldn't be in trouble, the bullets would go through him, but his companion...

"I suggest you stand behind that wall," he pointed at it.

Without asking questions, Curie did just that. Phantom then took the binoculars and looked there. No, it wasn't a sniper. It was something else. It must have been a caravan, but what caravans traveled at such time? Danny got really curious and removed the binoculars. But damn it, he had to remain on his post...eureka.

"Cujo!"

The glowing puppy immediately ran to him, wagging his tail.

"Guard the place. If something happens, wake up the others or apprehend them yourself."

Danny stroked under his friend's chin and smiled at seeing an affirmative nod. Phantom then took out a gun and set off.

"Excuse me, Monsieur, where are you going?"

"Curie, this might be dangerous. Please, stay here," Danny asked politely.

"You might require medical assistance on your way," the robot argued. "And it is my responsibility to make sure nothing happens."

Phantom sighed. "I appreciate your concerns, but I will be fine. It will be quick."

With that Danny jumped over the fence and went up the road. It was a dark night, because the sky filled with clouds. It probably was going to rain. Phantom got to the top of the hill, looking at the ground below. He saw a blue light below, and it seemed that he found something VERY unusual. Those were humanoid robots, and all of them had guns. Some were wearing white suits and helmets, but their unarmored comrades gave them out.

Phantom wasn't sure about what to do with them, but then the answer revealed itself, as he heard a strange sound behind. Not a second had he turned around when Danny had to block the electrified stick with his musket. How had he noticed that thing before? His question was answered when the robot turned invisible and stepped away. Phantom had no time to wonder, because a rain of laser shots was rained at him. The ghost guessed that it wasn't necessary to hide his powers from machines he planned on destroying. He put up a shield which absorbed the shots.

"Scanning, unknown energy source detected," one of them said in metallic voice.

"Should I feel insulted?"

That was something new. Never before had he been called an energy source. Danny then rolled the handle, charging the gun. The robots understood that the shield was impenetrable for their guns, so they tried going around it. Phantom was about to shoot the first one who came his way, but then he felt a painful hit and a zap on his back. Ah, yes, that one. It would have knocked out a human, but Danny only hissed.

The man spun around and hit the robot with a charged ectoblast. Its head was completely blown off. The others seemed confused, and thus weren't straightforwardly attacking.

"Change of priority. Get the specimen alive."

"I'm afraid you are a bit late," Danny grinned toothily.

He fired the musket at the nearest robot, right at its center. It was down, but the others broke out of the stupor. They had to take out the shock sticks, because of some orders which had come out of nowhere. Danny needed just that. His eyes glowed green as the green blade materialized in his free hand. He made it look like a saber, to fit his clothing.

Phantom started deflecting the hits, as he had centuries to master his skills of swordsmanship. Danny's strikes were quick and swift, the robots' insides were shown to the enemy, all rubber pipes and circuits. They were as damage resistant as a piece of wood against an axe. Danny pushed the blade through the chest, dropping the musket, it was useless against multiple opponents. Instead he pulled a pistol in his arm, shooting at the other robot. Then he pulled out the saber and slashed at another one. His strength was bigger than that of machine, he overpowered it, pushed the stick down and made a stab, adding a control shot in the head.

Chunks of metal were flying everywhere, the robots were helpless against the ghost's relentless assault. Soon they all were dead, figuratively speaking. Danny grinned.

"That's what you get for messing with me," he said, cracking his knuckles and picking up the musket.

Danny decided to do some research. After all, those were the most advanced robots he had ever seen. And he knew just the person for such kind of job. Phantom would make a call, but until then he wanted to take a look himself. Tapping on the ground, Danny wondered how to get them to Sanctuary. Snapping his fingers, Phantom grinned. Yes, that would do.

The morning was very bright, bothering the sleeping soldiers a lot. They had to get up early because of the bright sun blasting through the windows or holes in the walls. Some went off to make breakfast, some went for a walk. Preston went to check on the general. He didn't find him on the post, his dog was standing there. While not happy about not being woken up to replace the hardworking man, Garvey was curious about where he went.

"Hey, Sturges!" He called for his long friend. The mechanic looked back at him. "Have you seen the general?"

"Oh, the kid is in the workshop. I heard some noise coming from there."

Thanking the man for his help, Preston went to the shanty building with yellow walls. He indeed heard some whirring and hissing from the inside. Opening the doors, the dark skinned minuteman was greeted by an unusual sight. There was a table in a middle of the room, on which he saw a synth, severely damaged. Danny was standing near it, with goggles to protect his eyes from the sparks. Curie was near him, using the laser with precision available only to her circuits.

"What's going on?" Preston asked with wide eyes.

"Oh, hey, Preston. What's up?" Danny grinned, as the procedure stopped for a while. "I just found this unlucky fellow snooping around. Just like his friends."

He pointed at the pile of robotic bodies in the corner, stacked like a pile of potatoes.

"And you destroyed them? Alone?"

"I wrestled a deathclaw," Danny gave a deadpan look. "They weren't a threat, they needed me alive to...examine, if you get what I mean."

"Tough," was everything Preston could say.

"They aren't the first," Danny shrugged. "Curie, laser power at...sixty five percent."

"Of course, monsieur."

"What are you doing?" Garvey inquired as the process went on.

"Satisfying my immense curiosity," Phantom calmly responded. "I just need to take the carcass to look inside."

"And next?"

"I know one guy who specializes in the cyber techs. Despite his arrogant personality, the guy helped with many of my modernization projects. I'll send those to him for further inspection. Maybe something useful will come out of this. Until then I'll be digging here. With the help of our new friend."

"Oh, thank you, Monsieur Fenton," Curie said joyously. "It's a pleasure working with such enlightened mind."

Danny coughed, blushing slightly. He was flattered.

"Anyways, I'll be looking into this. In the meantime, I want to know about the situation around. Allies may be useful to our cause. The vault helps us, but the help is rather meager."

Phantom later came up with an idea. The following fortnight turned out to be very interesting, he and his soldiers were just helping out the locals, who agreed for the protection of their organization. The northwestern part of suburban area of Boston was guarded by the Minutemen. But it wasn't enough, and the money were hard to come by. They didn't take any payment for their job, but the supplies

had to be taken somewhere. Danny ordered to call a representative from each settlement, guard them on their way to Sanctuary.

No one knew what to make of this, but the representatives came to the place in safety. They all came together in one wooden building, built from scratch, but nevertheless looking nicer than the rest. There were twenty in total. The settlements weren't big, but the number was still impressive. The people sat in several rows when the General came inside the room.

"Well, gentlemen. I'm glad you are here."

"What's all of this about, Phantom, I have the crops to pick," one of them said, crossing her hands.

"I'm afraid that it will have to wait," Danny stood before the people. "I've brought you all together to decide on what to do next."

"What's there to talk about? I thought we agreed on your protection."

"Yes. You did. But despite how charitable we are, it won't get us anywhere. We need to improve our cooperation, so we could achieve more."

"What's in it for you?"

"Ah, that's what I'm talking about. Harsh conditions create distrust, distrust leads to conflicts, conflicts lead to worse conditions. Its a hellish circle from which I'm trying to get you out. That's what I want, for the wasteland to become a better place. We can do it together."

"Alright, what do you offer?"

"First of all. We need a centralized leadership. Two, we need a proper infrastructure. To do so we need proper finances. And this is why I've brought you all together. So we could build everything above mentioned," Danny put hands on his belt with a confident grin.

"What was that about finances?"

"I've already considered a list," Phantom took a stack of papers.

"By using the money, I'm going to build new roads. We have been thrown back to the level of antiquity, so there is nothing to be ashamed of. The map of new paths is right here."

Phantom pressed a button and an old projector showed the image of the territory under the Minutemen's protection. There were red lines connecting the settlements.

"As you can see, the new roads are not based around the old ones. They will only be a bother. The new passages were checked by our scouts, there isn't any hostile activity, no nests, and the soil is rather fitting for our task. We will need rocks, gravel and proper instruments for this. We can rummage through the stores, I doubt anyone picked them up, unlike Nuka-cola. That's some good shit. With hidden weak drugs, though."

Danny coughed.

"We need enough workforce. We don't use slaves, we don't have enough workforce. That's a problem."

"If you can salvage, then why do we have to pay?"

"Goddamnit, Bill, let him finish for once!" Abernathy said.

"Thank you," Danny nodded with a smile. "Now, we could hire the workers, but that's too expensive. Robots...they can do just fine, but we need a specific protectron model, and they aren't easy to find and repair. Most of the time they shoot at everyone. I need a working thing, or at least not severely damaged one. After roads we will be able to build normal housing, as more people will be attracted here. Not these piles of junk you call houses, no offense."

"Now to the issue which troubles some of the present here. The Minutemen take no money, but we still need ammo, armor and details for weapons. Or would you rather prefer us to fight with rusty knifes? Some raiders have power armors, I doubt this will work. I prefer a more civilized approach, so the amount of money for all expenses of our quasi-state shall be fixed and be measured in percents, not a sum."

People mumbled among each other.

"Do not think that this is some magical world. We are doing our best, but the others don't. Unless you find someone who gives away weapons for free, we'll be needing some caps. From the research I had to be done on prices and incomes, the tax amount of fifteen percent shall be the most efficient."

His usage of smart words and methods differing from those of most wasteland leaders played its role just fine. The uneducated folk believed in him, agreeing to do their part. Hereby General Phantom assumed the role of the leader. He was relieved that it went so easily. Danny would make sure that the minutemen wouldn't turn into a casual gang. But it was his first step towards the leadership over the wasteland.

A couple of days later Phantom decided that they should make advances. More settlements should come under his wing. But there hadn't been any calls for help as of late. There were some communes scattered around Boston, but they would become enclaves if the territory had not been joint with the rest. There would only be an unprotected damaged road. That bandits kept appearing from nowhere. That's why the team of the minutemen was where they were. In a park, where the raiders' base was.

"That will be an easy one," Phantom smirked, fixing his triangle hat. He loved that play. "They have no other defences."

He had five rookies with him. Danny preferred to give them field practice himself. And this was a wonderful opportunity, seeing how unprotected the raiders were.

"Alright...Hoggs, was it?" He asked a young woman nearby.

"Yes, sir," she perked up.

"You seem to have good aim," Phantom commented, crossing his hands. "See that watchman? On my signal you shoot. Not head, though, lower the power of the laser. I need him to scream for help, am I clear?"

The woman nodded.

"Others...follow me. Hoggs, once the crowd tries to track you down, hide somewhere. We will strike from another side."

The team separated. Phantom's squad crouched and went to another side of the building, which used to belong to the park's administration. The half ghost led them to the side, completely unnoticed. Then, he gave a signal, seen by the shooter through the optical sights.

A loud banging sound of a .308 caliber round was heard all around. The bullet hit the raider in the knee, and a deafening scream reached everyone's ears. The fuss began, according to Danny's plan. The raiders burst out of the main entrance, trying to find the source. The sniper just kept shooting, and after another one fell dead, the rest took covers. Hoggs proceeded with another part of the scheme, just like the rest of the group.

The other minutemen approached the rear door, but it was locked.

"Flames," Danny cursed, before looking at his soldiers. "Keep watch, I'll pick it in no time."

Once everyone turned away, Danny simply touched the door and made one little part intangible. He pushed it lightly and the way was clear.

"Done," he smirked.

"How..."

"No time to explain, go."

The minutemen cautiously went deeper inside the half ruined house. It was showing some signs of livability: sleeping bags, lack of skeletons lying around...They had even used the old fireplace for cooking meals. Danny made a gesture to stop, hearing shooting outside. But despite this, there were some steps upstairs. Not everyone had left.

"Take positions here. Shoot at the raiders outside once you hear shooting upstairs."

Danny went upstairs alone as the soldiers took places near the windows, revving up their muskets. Phantom didn't take his own and drummed on the walls as he went through the corridor.

"What the heck, who is..."

The person exiting the nearest room was punched in the face, before Danny grabbed his hand, hit the elbow, making the bandit drop his pistol and yelp in pain. The raider took a knife from his belt with an intact hand, but Phantom let the hand come through him, grinning all the while. One more hit on the head and the man was knocked out. Now, time for a signal. Danny scooped the dropped pistol and made a finishing shot at the fallen scumbag.

He heard the sounds of the shattering windows, followed by the shooting. Phantom rolled his eyes, they could have just opened them. Danny went inside the former children's room and jumped through the wall, landing on the roof.

"Ah," he said to himself, looking at the sunny sky and checking the ammo in the homemade pipe pistol. "What a nice day for a walk."

Phantom was on top of the roof, seeing the raiders below getting shot from the back. He saw one of them try to make a daring escape. Or he was seeking a proper position. Nonetheless, Danny smirked and aimed. A couple of seconds later a bullet pierced his head. The shooting ended, as the trap had obviously worked. They were all dead and the task was done.

"Good job everyone!" Phantom clapped, before jumping down from ten meters and landing swiftly. "Let's search around. Take everything of use: food, ammo and water. Don't neglect searching their bodies. There may be something."

The soldiers started searching, piling all the goods in one place. Of course, some stayed on watch. Danny just roamed the first floor, looking around it. He wasn't personally interested in anything, except for maybe a comic book about Grognak the Barbarian and his adventure in the jungles of Lustria. The King and the General was excited for such little human things. It gave him a sense of normality in this crazy world.

"Sir!" One of his men called, interrupting Danny from his observations.

"Yes?" He asked curiously, getting up from the sofa.

"I think we have finished."

"Good. Packing up, everyone..."

His phrase was interrupted once Phantom heard some faint noise outside. No one else seemed to notice, thus they were surprised to see the general dashing outside. He knew exactly what it was. And Danny turned out to be right. There were two vertibirds - tiltwing aircrafts. And they were coming in their direction. Now the Minutemen heard them, too. There was a tint of hope that they would pass, but no. They opened fire.

Immediately several soldiers fell dead under the torrent of bullets.

"INSIDE!" Phantom roared, and the others didn't argue, running inside the building. Danny glared at them, as the bullets passed through him.

There was an emblem he had learned a while ago. The Brotherhood of Steel. What a way to get acquainted. Phantom calmly took out a musket, as the enemies just couldn't understand why there wasn't a scratch on him left. His own men and women watched in awe through the peek holes. He's got to be the luckiest person in existence. The bullets could as well ricochet back, they wouldn't be surprised. Then Danny aimed.

If he remembered correctly, the engine should be right beneath the cockpit. Rolling the musket charge, he fired. The crimson blast hit it dead on, going through the hull. Muskets were slow, but damn, were they powerful once mingled with. The vertibird spiraled downwards, straight into the nearby trees. There was also another one. Phantom needed explanation, so they had to be spared. In a certain way. It meant that their landing would be softer.

Danny grabbed the propellers of the thing, using telekinesis. He could do that without using arms. And once they stopped, the transport began falling. Using the same ability, Phantom thwarted the descend, making it mop the ground for good fifty meters. But at least it did not explode. Phantom gestured for the Minutemen to come out.

"Keep your guns ready, we are going to have a talk," He said, sounding surprisingly dark.

They supported his mood. That bastards had slaughtered their friends. The group made their way to the crashed vertibird, seeing the enemies climbing out of the wreckage.

"One step and you shall die!" Phantom shouted, loud enough for them to hear.

It stopped the frightened men from fleeing. They just stood there with their arms raised. Danny and his soldiers stopped near them.

"Tell me one reason why I shouldn't kill you all," Phantom growled, lifting one of them by neck in the air, using only one of his hands and holding the musket in another.

"Fancy clothes for a raider," he chocked.

Now it became clear what was the reason for such aggressive behavior. Phantom's grip became stronger.

"Raiders?!" He asked again. "For the note, to all of you," Phantom looked at the rest of the crew.

None of them seemed eligible for fighting, but at least they had a uniform - orange jumpsuits. Something sparked in Danny's memory, something long gone, but he just shook his head. It wasn't the time to indulge in nostalgia.

"We are doing more than you think. And more than you all for the order of the Commonwealth. We are the Minutemen, so you know."

"A bunch of beggars."

"What was that?" Danny looked at another man. Maybe a pistol on his belt made him bolder. "This beggar shot down two of your pretty vertibirds in two shots."

No one could recall the second shot, however.

"Oh, you know the name, congrats."

Phantom let go his captive and approached the speaker. Everyone leaned to their weapons. The half ghost turned out to be taller.

"I even know enough to hit the required point," he said. "And I have an outstanding knowledge even your order does not possess. Because compared to the science of old, you are mere vultures. Nothing like the scientific minds of Big Mountain or Robert House. But I digress. What shall we do with you, attackers?"

"Just kill these assholes?" Someone offered.

"As tempting as it is..." Phantom glanced at them. "I have a deal to arrange. In exchange for what you've done, this vertibird is now ours."

"But sir..."

"Don't worry. Shall they stray out of line, I'll take care of them myself."

"What the hell are you thinking about?"

"Simple. I'll walk you to your base. I'll talk to your boss."

"What makes you think Elder Maxson will listen to the rodents like you?"

"So much for the saviors of Commonwealth. He will listen," Danny's eyes glowed green for the briefest of moments.

The members of the Brotherhood looked at each other. Yes, he will be alone with them. It would be the perfect opportunity to get away.

"Yes, we agree."


	8. A rival

Danny moved his triangle hat further away from his eyes, so as not to let the piece of clothing obscure his vision. So far the trip through the entirety of Boston was a tale of boredom and general uneventfulness. Phantom was no fool, he knew all too well that his newest companions and captives all in one were going to do if he lets his attention wander elsewhere. Namely, they wanted to use the only well-dressed person in the entire Commonwealth as a shooting dummy. Not only that, they would ruin his magnificent outfit, which would be a double jeopardy both against humanity and the undead.

That's why Danny was going behind the brothers in arms. Phantom could live through a bullet in his back, but better be cautious still. It annoyed the captives, because they did have weapons. But shall they do a little thing like putting their hands on a pistol, immediately a laser would go through their skull. Of course Phantom couldn't kill all of them that swiftly, but to the bold one - the first shot. Here went their courage. They wondered why Danny let them have weapons at all, but it was probably because he didn't want them to die by the hand of some rodent beast roaming this god forsaken city. His concerns were proven justified.

Several times they were attacked by the Supermutants. For the giant green ogres they were smart enough to use ambushes. The question of how they were able to do that with their size remained opened. What was clear is how stunned the Brotherhood members were at the prowess of their captor. He was so quick and precise that no bullet could hit him, they barely made a couple of shots from their cover. Phantom also had a pistol with him, in case like this when he needed speed. Musket was for long distances. It had own drawbacks, the pistol could barely make it through the thick skin of their, and they were quite resistant. But a bullet to the brain could kill everyone, even those who apparently lacked them.

Once they were done with, Phantom smirked at the job well done. His old muscles were getting better and better. However, as he turned around, Danny immediately noticed several guns pointed at him. Of course they would try to escape.

"I really don't recommend you to do this. You might harm yourself with these toys," he advised.

"Oh, yeah? How will you run away now, creep?"

"I'm not running anywhere," Danny said calmly.

He sat on the nearby piece of debris with calm expression. Not expecting such reaction, the others were hesitant to fire.

"The hell are you doing?"

Danny took a flask from his belt. "A dying wish?" He suggested weakly, before starting to drink its unknown contents.

"This guy is nuts," someone mumbled.

"If I am nuts then you are a pretzel," Responded Phantom dryly and then laughed at his own joke. He put his hands behind his back, lying on a load of concrete like it was a soft sofa.

"Enough," one of them snapped. "Just kill this brat already!"

They fired simultaneously, but only hit a green barrier between them. Phantom yawned theatrically.

"C'mon, surely you can do better with your farters for guns."

"What the heck is that thing?!" One of the attackers asked.

"A shield," Danny explained. "Protects me from literally everything."

"What kind of technology is this?!"

"The kind that will die with me," Phantom grinned innocently at their predicament. He knew he had just torn them from inside as they were engaged in the inner debates on how to handle him. Their Brotherhood valued techs above everything, and they couldn't risk losing a single piece. And they also had to make up for losing a squad and two vertibirds. Finally Phantom stood up.

"It's either your petty revenge or something truly valuable. You decide."

"Petty?! You've killed our brothers!"

"And you've killed several good people who just want to make Commonwealth better for everyone. Your fault that you have come here guns blazing."

"We don't even know what you are."

"Your problems. This world will never get back to what it used to be if every idiot will shoot the passerby. Why do I even bother telling this to you, post-war savages?!" Phantom's eyes flashed green for a moment, but it was but a mere game of light, of course. "Apologies. My philosophical conundrums formed after more than two millennia long history of humankind are complicated sometimes."

"D-don't try to distract us!"

Danny was suddenly really close to them. And they just noticed that.

"Oh, I do not," Phantom smiled slightly. "But I thought it has already been decided that I shall stay alive."

God, everyone thought, if only they had this guy's confidence. He was just shrugging off the fact that they were about to rip him a new one. One day it would end badly for him, though. Phantom smiled and went forward, now sure that his companions were now put down for a while.

"Are you coming?" He asked.

Grumbling something, they followed the raven haired man. Phantom could feel multiple glares on his back, but he couldn't care less. He would probably have to dispose or forget about this irrelevant cannon fodder. He only needed their leader. To get acquainted, probably, the Minutemen were still insufficient to challenge their power. If only Danny could have his ghostly army. But his subjects' safety was more important than this little campaign of his. But he could still get techs and utilize industrial potential. The nonexistent lack of weapons was just an excuse to get funding for his projects. People nowadays were more eager to pay for arms, not roads or other means of infrastructure.

The travel was long, and Danny started to regret having companions. He could have got there in less than an hour. They forced him to extend the trip for the whole extra day, and that was solely because Phantom was ruthless and efficient in dealing with everything on their path. It sped up the process significantly.

Soon the group got to the North-Eastern suburbs of Boston, up to the airport. From a large distance the zeppelin of the Brotherhood — Prydwen, could be seen. Phantom was impressed, although he had seen better. Especially before the war there was a reborn trend in using these things. Just a cruise up in the skies. Danny really enjoyed one of those, when his friend House invited him on it. The trip ended with Phantom taking a flight from several miles' length. Don't ask why. But all in all, the zeppelin made after the war was amazing. If it was, that is.

The way was barren and showed the signs of the recent bombing. Apparently someone had tried to get closer than they had allowed. The airport itself now looked like a fortress, as much as it could. All ways out were protected by the wooden or metal barricades, except the one which outlooked the Atlantic ocean. They weren't afraid of the mutants lurking within its dark waters. But they should.

Stopping near the metal gates, the group stopped. The place was guarded by two men in the power armor, along with a couple of sentry guns that fumed with black smoke, rattling like a lawnmower. The soldiers in the armor also had impressive gatling lasers. The message to all savages was clear enough: Stay away or be vaporized. The guards' faces were hidden, but they were obviously surprised at the scene before them.

"What the hell?" One of them asked. "Winston, where are vertibirds? And your team?"

"Gone, reduced to atoms," Danny burst into laughter. Even after a few hundred years it was still funny. His laughter was, however, taken as an insult.

"That little punk has blown them up!" Phantom felt something nudge his back. It was a gun, probably.

"With two laser shots, may I add," Danny beamed.

"Aren't you the hawk eye."

"Nah, that guy was useless. Not as much as that chick, though."

No one could understand his humor. And they were missing a lot.

"Why did you bring him here?"

"He has some strange techs he is refusing to share."

"Share? Sharing is caring, but you want to snatch my tech from me. This will not do, you haven't done a thing, but I spent years making them!"

"Shut up, would you?!"

"So much for being buddies. As the leader of a large enough alliance of settlements I demand an audience with the guy in charge."

Everyone laughed. Like they would heed to this dressed up wimp's demands.

"Nice joke, whelp."

"I let only one person call me that," Phantom snorted. "Seriously, however. I will not give anything unless I speak to your boss."

The guards looked at Danny's convoy.

"We'll get him to Ingram. She will make him talk, and understand what he is babbling about."

Phantom burst laughing. "I'd like to see her try. Okay, then. Lead on, leadbrains."

He was pushed forward through the gates. The airport was comprised of a central terminal building, which was mostly destroyed, a parking garage and a small garage. There was also a tarmacked surface which bear the remains of several Horizon Airlines jet airliners. The airliners were completely destroyed, with the wings having separated and the fuselages being torn into three parts. The aircraft interiors had been completely stripped out. The tarmac was also littered with an abundance of junk. It was mostly cleaned up by the Brotherhood. The people were going back and forward, as it was a base of their military operations. They gave Danny occasional glances. He just grinned and saluted at them.

Phantom was led to the place, as his weapons had been confiscated. He was calm about the entire ordeal. After all, he was still a King of the Undead, he could snap their necks with a move of his eyebrow. Danny stopped in what looked like a workshop. One of his 'captors' went to some woman who was directing repairs, obviously not suitable to repair it for herself. Because she was dressed in a power armor and its fingers were too huge for precise work.

It was more of a naked skeleton of an armor, because all armor plates had been strapped from the main body. It did make the costume lighter, but granted little protection all in all. The redheaded lady approached him and sized the half ghost up and down.

"You don't look like much," she mumbled.

Danny snorted. "That's what I hear from a lady in a power armor made of trash."

"Unlike someone I do have a power armor," obviously Ingram retorted. "I've been told you possess advanced techs. The conditions are simple. You either give them to us or we take them from your corpse."

"And I once again have to break it to you that such technologies are beyond your understanding."

"Coming from some savage from the wasteland it is even more insulting."

"Oh, really? This savage has lived in a highly organized society where rights and order are being upheld. And technologically ahead of this entire world."

Ingram now narrowed her eyes. "Only the Institute is ahead of us. I doubt you are from there."

Danny barked a laugh. "Oh, you mean the constructors of that androids. Your obliviousness is adorable."

"You are ARMED with a primitive MUSKET."

"It is for entourage," Danny whined. "And with this thing I shot down two of your transports. So don't you teach me that my toys are flawed."

"Do we really have to torture him to get the results?" Ingram restrained herself from rubbing her temples. She didn't want to smash her head with that sausages made of the hard alloy.

"Yes, ma'am, he also has some shield technology! All our shots have been absorbed by it!"

Danny grinned. "Be aware that you are getting nooone," he said in a singsong voice.

"Show it now."

"Nope."

Someone brandished a pistol and pointed the laser weapon at him.

"Do it, you little bastard or I'll make a hole in your head!" The guy exclaimed. No one seemed to object to this drastic measure.

Danny huffed. "For the note, lasers don't make holes in the heads on the power level you've just set. And also, I'd like to see you try and hit me. I just came to talk with your boss, for Clockwork's sake. Can we move to that matter or do I have to kill you all for that? I doubt that it is a proper beginning of a proper cooperation."

Someone made a move to bash his head, but in but a single split second Phantom grabbed his hands, twisted them, grabbed the same pistol and got behind the attacker, now pointing the gun at his head. No one even had a chance to react to this, they were stunned at his reaction.

"I told you," Phantom grinned. "Trying to shoot me is pointless. I either get an audience and MAYBE show you my shield or I simply kill you all and leave. The choice is yours."

There should have been a sign somewhere above that everyone hated him. Because it was that obvious. Now it was an open threat and it shall be punished accordingly. Everyone took the guns they possessed, but were reluctant in their further actions, seeing as their comrade was still in his cold, strong arms.

"What a way to start," Ingram grumbled.

"Hey, don't you tell me this!" Exclaimed Phantom. "I have been brought here after you attacked my men. Having unreasonably and moronically mistaken us for a bunch of douchebags who call themselves raiders for some reason known only to their minds hellbent on jerko or whatever that junk is."

"And you killed ours. We are even," Ingram continued. "So if you don't mind. Leave him alone."

"Oh, no, not so fast!" Phantom grabbed the collar of his captive. "I am in a hurry. Have to be home by dinner infested with radiation and made of mystery meat. Last time it was a mirelurk, if I am to guess. So. Your boss. Or do I have to take a vertibird and get up myself? I can drive the thing, I am a goddamn veteran!"

"Fine! We will take you there, but if Elder Maxon orders to kill you, we shall do it."

Danny grinned. "Splendid!" And then released his captive.

"Kill him."

Phantom blinked, before a torrent of bullets and laser rays flew towards him. Bullets he could avoid, lasers reacted with his very atoms, which were present even during intangibility. He instantly vanished out of sight, and the missed shots became the sole reason of the collateral damage.

"Hold your fire!" Ingram commanded.

"Where the hell did he go?!"

Suddenly the armored lady felt something tapping on her back. Turning around, she saw Phantom's grinning self. He then showed her a yellow cylinder, and it became clear what he had done.

"You little..."

The power armor got stuck without its power source - the nuclear fusion core, which was currently residing in Danny's cold and firm grasp. Ingram was totally immobile, unable to move an extremely heavy suit. No one could do that without the help of the complicated machinery. Phantom laughed soundingly and made a step back, flipping the core in his palm. Each flip was accompanied by a jump of everyone's heart. The one caused by fear of the possible explosion. The core required tender care and was the weakest spot of any power armor.

"I don't recommend to shoot. I am holding a mini nuclear bomb. A simple overload will make it explode," Danny warned. "I see that it is pointless trying to talk this out. I'm less and less eager for the conversation with your boss. If he lets you, insufferable jackals, run around and attack everyone at sight, then he isn't the most sympathetic fellow. I think I've changed my mind. When he wants to talk, then he'd better come by himself."

"Don't you have an overinflated ego," Ingram mumbled.

"Aw, don't be like that. I was going to call my diamond pony after you. Buttstalion seemed like such an appropriate name. Listen up, The Commonwealth is on the path to healing. And you are the salt on its many wounds. Do not interfere with our efforts, or the Enclave is going to seem like harmless bunnies compared to me."

Phantom's eyes glowed, "I saw how humanity almost killed itself. And I shall not tolerate the brainless primates who thwart my efforts of repairing what the likes of you have ruined. I was not obligated to do that, yet I am here. If you cannot appreciate this, then just leave us alone."

He tossed the fusion core into the air, before blasting it with ecto energy. It blew up like a mini nuclear bomb. The distraction it caused made it simple of him to evade the fire. He wasn't willing to kill them if he had the opportunity. The fools simply didn't know what they were doing. Then an idea occurred to him, before Phantom grinned widely to himself.

Later that evening, the Brotherhood of Steel found out about one horrific development. They were robbed, some weapons were gone, pieces of battle armor, fusion cores and other techs of value from their storage houses, it all was stolen. The Brotherhood was shocked and pissed off, knowing exactly whom to blame. They sent the vertibirds to pursue the thieves, but could not find anyone. The base of the Minutemen was in the other part of the Commonwealth, it would take some preparation to go for a retaliation mission. However, Phantom knew what he was doing. He knew how the wastelanders behaved and thought. On one hand there were the minutemen, who had done some mistakes, but under new general were doing a lot for the Commonwealth. They were going to be attacked by the Brotherhood — a group of people that ignored the people around, hoarding the techs and paying no heed to their owners. If the Elder was to give the order to attack the Minutemen, he could toss his plans for pacifying the region out of the window of his giant zeppelin.

So yes, Phantom knew what card to use. After all, he had been in charge of the entire dimension for decades. He knew what to do.

Even more, with how disliked the newcomers were, people actually sympathised with the Minutemen, they made jokes at the expense of the knights in shining power armours. Phantom found a rival for dominance in Boston.


End file.
